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QUEEN    ELEANOKA    OF    BULGARIA. 


lulgaria 

With  an  Account  of  the 

Balkan  Wars,  Macedonia,  and  the 

Macedonian  Bulgars 


9tU  &.  IHonrot 

Author  of  "Turkey  and  the  Turks,"  "In  Viking 
Land,"  "Sicily,  the  Garden  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean," "  Bohemia  and  the  Cechs," 
"  Europe  and  Her  People,"  etc. 


aiUuBlratfiJ 


THE    PAGE   COMPANY 

BOSTON    ^    MDCCCCXIV 


Copyright,   1914, 
By   The    Pagk    Company 

All  rights  reserved 


First.  IinprossioD,  September,   1914 


THE    COLONIAL   PRESS 
C.    11.    SIMOfDS    CO.,    BOSTON,    V.  P..  A. 


srlF 

MRU 


DEDICATED    TO 

DR.   LOUIS    N.   WILSON, 

CtuMlK    OmVERSITY, 

WOKCEHTEH,    MASS., 

U.    8.    A. 


BULGARIA  AND  HER  PEOPLE 


Works  of 

PROFESSOR  WILL  S.  MONROE 

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In  Viking  Land:  Norway ,  Its  Peo- 
ple, Its  Fjords,  and  Its  Fjelds    -  3.00 
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nean   -    - 3.00 

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THE   PAGE   COMPANY 

53  Beacon  Street,  Boston,  Mass. 


FOREWORD 


This  is  the  first  general  book  of  travel  and  de- 
scription, treating  of  the  rejuvenated  Bulgarian 
kingdom,  to  be  published  in  the  English  language. 
Of  all  the  peoples  of  the  Balkan  peninsula,  the  Bul- 
gars  are  least  well  known  in  Europe  and  America; 
and  yet  it  is  the  universal  testimony  of  the  few 
foreigners  who  have  learned  to  know  them  inti- 
mately that  the  inhabitants  of  **  the  peasant  state,'* 
although  more  recently  liberated  from  the  oppress- 
ive Turkish  rule  than  the  other  races  of  the  penin- 
sula, have  outdistanced  the  Greeks,  the  Rumanians, 
the  Servians,  and  the  Montenegrins  in  most  of  the 
matters  that  make  for  social  progress  and  civili- 
zation. Illiteracy,  for  example,  is  distinctly  lower 
in  Bulgaria  than  in  the  other  Balkan  states.  The 
Bulgars  spend  twice  as  much  per  inhabitant  on 
elementary  education  as  the  Servians,  two  and  a 
half  times  as  much  as  the  Greeks,  and  three  times 
as  much  as  the  Montenegrins. 

As  this  book  is  intended  for  the  general  reader, 
the  author  has  stressed  the  human  side  of  the  sub- 
ject, and  treated  of  a  reasonably  wide  range  of  gen- 
eral topics,  —  geography,  history,  religion,  educa- 
tion, ethnic  types,  agriculture,  industry,  commerce, 

vii 


VUl 


Foreword 


literature,  painting,  sculpture,  music,  —  that  throw 
light  on  and  lend  interest  to  the  developing  civili- 
zation of  the  new  kingdom. 

Considerable  space  is  devoted  to  the  two  recent 
Balkan  wars  and  to  the  authoritative  report  of  the 
Carnegie  commission.  The  author  was  in  Bulgaria 
during  the  second  Balkan  war,  and  his  personal 
investigations  into  the  nature  of  and  the  responsi- 
bility for  the  second  Balkan  war  are  in  entire  ac- 
cord with  the  findings  of  the  Carnegie  commission. 

Bulgaria  was  betrayed,  attacked,  and  traduced 
by  her  treacherous  allies.  She  accomplished  most 
and  lost  most  in  the  Balkan  wars.  The  charges  of 
atrocities  against  Bulgarian  soldiers  were  in  the 
main  false.  On  the  other  hand,  the  barbarities  com- 
mitted by  the  victorious  Greeks  and  Servians,  and 
notably  by  the  former,  —  the  torture  of  the  wounded, 
the  murder  of  prisoners  of  war,  the  firing  on  Red 
Cross  and  neutral  flags,  the  violation  of  women,  — 
have  shocked  humanity.  The  report  of  the  Car- 
negie commission  is  a  crushing  indictment  of  the 
Greeks  and  the  Serbs  and  their  shameful  beha- 
viour during  the  recent  wars. 

The  author  is  under  a  large  debt  of  gratitude  to 
a  score  of  people  in  Bulgaria,  who  have  aided  him 
in  the  collection  and  tbe  verification  of  the  facts  in 
his  book;  but  they  must  be  passed  over  with  a 
blanket  statement  of  thanks.  Four  friends,  how- 
ever, must  be  named :  Mr.  Tvan  A.  Karastoyanoff, 
the  artistic  photographer  at  Sofia,  for  many  of  the 
illustrations  used  in  this  volume;  the  Reverend 
Elia  K.   Kutukchieff,   of   Haskovo,   Bulgaria,   who 


Foreword  ix 

accompanied  the  author  in  his  arduous  travels  in 
Bulgaria  during  the  second  Balkan  war;  and  Pro- 
fessor Radoslav  A.  Tsanoff,  formerly  of  Clark  Uni- 
versity hut  now  of  Rice  Institute,  Houston,  Texas, 
and  Professor  Amos  W.  Farnham,  late  of  the  Os- 
wego Normal  School,  who  submitted  to  the  drudg- 
ery of  reading  the  proof  sheets. 

w.  s.  M. 
June  1,  1914. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER    I 

GEoGRArnY  OF  Bulgaria 

PAOB 

Physiography  of  the  country  —  Nature  of  the  Balkan  mountaina 

—  Diviflions  of  the  Stara  Planina  —  The  mountains  of  southern 
liulgaria  —  The  Kilos  —  The  Rhodopes  —  Mountain  streania 

—  The  Maritza  river  valley  —  Picturesque  features  of  the 
southern  Rhodopes  —  Lakelets  and  mineral  springs  —  Climate 
of  Bulgaria  —  Rainfall  —  Flora  and  fauna  —  Area  and  popu- 
lation of  the  country  —  Bulgarians  in  the  United  States  1 

CHAPTER   II 
The  Old  Bulgarian  Kingdom: 

Earliest  inhabitants  of  Bulgaria  —  The  ancient  Thraco-Iliyrians 

—  Reign  of  Philip  of  Maecdon  —  Arrival  of  the  Bulgars  — 
Their  subjugation  of  the  native  Slavic  tribas  —  The  rule  of  As- 
paruh  and  Kruin  —  Prince  Boris  and  the  adoption  of  Chris- 
tianity —  Reign  of  Simeon  —  The  royal  palace  at  Preslav  — 
Golden  age  of  Bulgarian  literature  —  Conflicts  with  the  By- 
zantine emperors  —  The  Bogomil  heresy  —  Their  doctrines 
and  persecution  —  Bulgaria  a  part  of  the  Greek  empire  — 
The  house  of  Asen  —  The  new  capital  at  Tirnovo  —  Tne  fate 
of  Baldwin,  the  Prankish  emperor  —  Discord  in  Bulgaria  — 
Conquest  of  the  country  by  the  Turks 12 

CILVPTER   III 

Under  the  Turkish  Yoke 

The  Turkish  conquest  of  Bulgaria  —  Dark  ages  of  Bulgarian 
history  —  Turkish  political  oppression  and  Greek  ecclesias- 
tical tyranny  —  The  corrupt  Phanariotes  —  Extinction  of  Bul- 
garian learning  —  \V\\y  the  movement  for  the  Hcllcnization 
of  the  Bulgars  failed  —  Origin  of  the  Poinak  republic  —  PJfforts 
of  the  Bulgars  to  throw  oil  the  Turkish  yoke  —  Influence  of 
the  literary  and  historical  revival  —  Labours  of  the  monk 
Paissy  —  The  school  at  Kotel  —  Beginnings  of  revolutionary 
movements  —  Services  of  Venelin  —  The  school  at  Gabrovo 


xii  Contents 


—  Re^atablishment  of  the  Bulgarian  national  church  —  Turk- 
ish oppression  following  the  Crimean  war  —  Work  of  revolu- 
tionary committees  in  Rumania 20 


CHAPTER   IV 

Liberation  ok  Bulgaiiia 

Beginning  of  the  end  of  the  Turkish  rule  —  Massacres  of  the 
bashi-bozouks — Responsibility  of  England  for  conditions  in 
Turkey  —  The  Crimean  war  —  Russia  and  the  oppressed 
Bulgars  —  The  Massacre  at  Batak  —  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the 
Bulgarian  "  horrors  "  —  Outbreak  of  the  Russo-Turkish  war 
of  1877-78  —  Russian  3uccet)s(«  —  IIow  the  Bulgars  cooper- 
ated with  their  liberators  —  The  treaty  of  San  Stcfano  — 
Anger  of  England  —  The  congress  of  Berlin  —  The  cunning  of 
Abdul-Hamid  —  Macedonia,  Albania,  and  Thrace  given  back 
to  Turkey  —  Creation  of  the  principalities  of  Bidgaria  and 
Eastern  Rumelia 38 


CHAPTER   V 

The  New  Bulgarian  Kingdom 

Adminifltrative  affairs  of  Bulgaria  in  the  hands  of  Russians  — 
The  new  constitution  adopted  at  Timovo  —  Election  of 
Prince  Alexander  of  Battenberg  aa  ruler  of  Bulgaria  —  The 
Russophil  party  —  The  coup  d'etat  —  Airognnce  of  the  Rus- 
sian officials  —  Restoration  of  the  suspended  constitution  — 
Departure  of  the  Russian  officials  —  Union  of  Eastern  Rumelia 
with  Bulgaria  —  Appearance  of  Stefan  StambolofT  —  The  war 
with  Servia  —  Russian  intrigues  —  Kidnapping  of  Prince 
Alexander  —  His  return  to  Bulgaria  —  Abdication  of  the 
prince  —  Wbat  Prince  Alexander  had  done  for  Bulgaria  .       50 


CHAPTER   VI 

Bulgaria  Under  King  Ferdinand 

Alienation  of  the  Bulgarian  sympathies  by  the  intrigues  of  the 
Russians  —  Election  of  Prince  Ferdinand  by  the  national 
assembly  —  Refusal  of  the  powers  to  recognize  the  election  — 
Non-recognition  a  distinct  advantage  —  Stamboloff  and  the 
friendly  relations  of  Bulgaria  with  the  governments  of  Europe 

—  Intriguing  Russophil  ecclesiastics  —  How  StambolofT  dis- 
ciplined them  —  Birth  of  Prince  Boris  —  Friction  between 
Ferdinand  and  his  great  minister  —  The  downfall  of  Stamboloff 

—  Sinister  Russian  influences  again  in  evidence  —  Dedication 
of  the  Russian  chapel  at  Shipka  pass  —  Independence  of  Bul- 
garia from  Turkey  —  What  King  Ferdinand  has  accom- 
plished —  Popularity  of  Prince  Boris  —  His  rebaptism  to  the 
faith  of  the  national  Orthodox  church GO 


Contents  xiii 


CHAPTER   Vli 

Stamboloff  vh.  Russian  Intrigues 

The  early  life  of  Stefan  SfnmbolofT  —  His  Russian  experiences  — 
Connection  with  the  Bulgarian  revolutionary  committee  — 
Leader  of  the  upriBing  at  Stara  Zagora  —  President  of  the 
national  assembly  —  Ilis  role  m  the  union  of  the  two  Bulgarias 

—  Prime  minister  to  Prince  Alexander  —  How  he  met  the 
attacks  of  Russia  against  Bulgarian  independence  —  The 
regency  —  Prime  minister  under  Prince  l'\'rdinand  —  Was  hia 
rule  despotic?  —  How  he  punished  Macedonian  brigands  — 
His  quarrels  with  the  prince  —  Resignation  from  the  ministry 

—  Cruel  persecution  by  the  Russophil  government  —  His  mur- 
der —  Pen  picture  of  the  great  statesman  —  Estimates  of  his 
servioea  —  Connection  of  Russia  with  his  downfall  and  murder 

—  His  faults  and  his  virtues 73 


CHAPTER  VIII 

The  Balkan  League 

Responsibility  for  Turkish  misrule  in  Macedonia  —  Guiding 
principle  of  Ottoman  statecraft  —  The  revolutionary  move- 
ment and  its  consequences  —  Turkish  massacres  —  Attempts 
of  Russia  and  Austria  to  inaugurate  reforms  —  The  Young 
Turk  party  — •  Attempf.s  to  Ottomanize  Macedonia  —  Why 
the  Macedonians  revolted  against  Turkish  rule  —  Early  at- 
tempts to  form  a  Balkan  league  —  Why  StarabolofI  rejected 
the  ov(;rture^s  of  the  Greeks  —  Venizelos  and  the  Balkan 
league  of  1912  —  Provisions  of  the  league  for  the  reform  of 
Macjxlonia  —  Bulgarian  conventions  with  Greece,  Servia, 
and  Montenegro 87 


CHAPTER   IX 
The  First  Balkan  War 

Immediate  causes  of  the  war  —  Inefficiency  of  the  great  powers 

—  Demands  of  the  allies  —  Turkey's  refusal  —  Declaration  of 
war  —  Composition  of  the  Bulgarian  army  —  General  Savoff 

—  Kutincheff,  Ivanoff,  and  Dimitrieff  —  General  Fitchefl  — 
The  battle  of  Kirk  Kliss^  — ■  Bulgarian  successes  at  Lule 
Burgas  and  Bunar  Hissur  —  Before  the  Tchatalja  lines  — 
Expediency  of  the  attack  —  The  siege  of  Adrianople  —  Armis- 
tice and  peace  conference  —  Resumption  of  hostilities  — 
Capture  of  Adrianople  —  The  part  Bulgaria  took  in  tlie  first 
Balkan  war  —  Tribute  to  the  splenaid  qualities  of  her 
soldiers 106 


xiv  Contents 


CHAPTER  X 

The  Second  Balkan  War 

CauBes  of  the  Becond  Balkan  war  —  Conduct  of  the  Greek  and 
Servian  armies  in  Macedonia  —  Attempts  to  disintegrate 
Bulgarian  social  and  national  life — Maltreatment  of  Bul- 
garian biflhops  and  teachers  —  Secret  understanding  between 
Greece  and  Servia  before  the  close  of  the  first  Balkan  war  — 
Vacillating  policy  of  the  prime  minister  of  Servia —  Violation 
of  the  conditions  of  the  Balkan  league  by  Greeks  and  Servians 

—  Efforts  of  Russia  to  prevent  war  —  GueahofT  and  Pachitch 
in  conference  —  Outbreak  of  hostilities  —  Plan  of  General 
Savoff's  campaign  against  the  Servians  —  Greeks  attack  the 
Bulgarian  garrison  at  Salonika  —  Retreat  of  General  Ivanoff 

—  Invasion  of  Bulgaria  by  Rumania  —  Turkey  reconquers 
Thrace  —  The  peace  treaty  of  Bucharest  —  Why  the  Balkan 
question  is  not  settled 116 


CHAPTER   XI 

Alleged  Bulgahian  Atrocities 

The  press  campaign  of  King  Constantine  of  Greece —  Isolation 
of  Bulgaria  during  the  second  Balkan  war  —  Personal  experi- 
ences of  the  author  —  Testimony  of  refugees  —  What  he  saw  in 
the  Rilo  and  the  Rhodope  mountains  —  Accounts  of  atrocities 
published  in  Le  Temps  and  the  retraction  —  Bishops  report.ed 
killed  by  the  Greeks  found  alive  by  the  Carnegie  commission 
—  How  the  Greeks  forged  the  signature  of  an  American  mis- 
sionary —  Bulgaria  demands  the  apjjointment  of  an  interna- 
tional commission  to  investigate  the  atrocities  of  all  the  bel- 
ligerents—  Action  of  the  Hague  tribunal  —  Report  of  the 
Carnegie  commission  —  Its  findings  at  Doxato,  Seres,  and 
Demir  Hissar  —  Responsibility  of  the  Greeks  —  Charges  by 
the  Greeks  of  mutilation  of  bodies  by  Bulgarian  soldiers  pro- 
nounced false  by  the  commisflion 135 


CHAPTER   XII 

Greek  Atrocities  in  the  Balkan  Wars 

Responsibility  of  the  Greek  press  in  inciting  feelings  of  hatred 
against  the  Bulgars  —  The  order  of  King  Constantine  for 
Greek  reprisals  antedated  the  alleged  Bulgarian  provocation 
—  Sacking  and  burning  Kukush  by  the  Greeks  —  Tales  of 
torture  by  Macedonian  refugees  —  Catholic  priests  and  Ar- 
menian doctors  flogged  for  money  —  Attempts  of  Greek  sol- 
diers to  violate  nuns  —  Damaging  evidence  of  the  letters 
found  m  the  Razlog  district  of  Macedonia  —  Greek  soldiers 
boast  of  their  cruelties  —  One  hundred  and  sixty  Bulgarian 
villages  burned  by  the  Greeks 162 


Contents  xv 


CHAPTER   XIII 

The  Pkohlk  ok  Buloahia 

Ethnically  the  Bulgars  of  Finnic  stock  —  Physical  characteris- 
tics —  Mental  traits  —  Industry-  and  frugality  —  Peasant 
costumes  —  Standards  of  morality  —  The  community  home 

—  Bulgarian  language  —  Literacy  of  the  people  —  Spirit  of 
toleration  —  Jews  in  Bulgaria  —  Gypsies  —  Greeks  —  Their 
characteristic  ethical  defects  —  The  Kutzo-Vlacks    .        .        .     182 

CHAPTER   XIV 

How  Bulgaria  Is  Governed 

Fundamental  principles  of  the  Bulgarian  constitution  —  Execu- 
tive powers  —  The  national  assembly  —  How  constituted  —  A 
unique  electoral  law  —  Representation  of  minorities  —  Charges 
of  unfair  elections  —  The  grand  sobranje  —  Sources  of  rev- 
enue —  Ix)cal  government  in  Bulgaria  —  Municipal  councils  — 
The  judiciary  —  Bulgaria  a  well  governetl  state  —  Political 
parties  —  Conservatives  and  liberals  —  Other  parties      .        .     192 

CHAPTER   XV 

Rklkjion  and  Monasteries 

The  national  Ort.hodox  church  of  Bulgaria  —  A  static  religion  — 
Dearth  of  intellectual  life  among  its  priests  —  Language  of 
the  service  —  Place  of  fasts  —  Nature  of  church  services  — 
The  confessional  —  Celibacy  required  only  of  monks  —  Re- 
ligious toleration  in  Bulgaria  —  The  Pomaka  or  Bulgarian 
Moslems — Moriasticism — -The  famous  Rilo  monastery  — 
Other  monasteries  —  The  Mohammedan  church  in  Bulgaria  — 
The  Greek  {)atriarchist  church  —  Hebrews  —  Catholics  and 
Uniates  —  'I'he  American  Protestant  movement  in  Bulgaria  — 
Its  educational  influence  —  What  Protestantism  has  uonc  for 
the  country 208 

CHAPTER   XVI 

Education  in  Bulqahia 

Bulgarian  culture  effaced  during  the  supremacy  of  the  Greek 
Phanariotes  —  The  revival  of  learning  in  Bulgaria  —  Educa- 
tion and  the  literary  and  historical  renaissance  —  The  second- 
ary school  at  Gabrovo  —  Opposition  of  the  Greek  ecclesiastics 

—  Views  of  the  American  missionaries  —  Mission  schools 
conducted  by  Americans  —  The  national  school  system  — 
How  elementar>'  schools  are  support.ed  —  Course  of  study  — 
Education  of  girls  —  Norma!  schools  for  the  training  of 
teachers  —  The  university  of  Sofia  —  Special  and  technical 
schools  —  Rapid  decrease  in  the  percentage  of  illiteracy  — 
Libraries 224 


xvi  Contents 

PAOB 

CHAPTER   XVII 

BULGAIUAN    FoLJC  -  SoNQ    AND    MuBIC 

Rich  folk-popt.ry  nf  the  country  —  How  theHO  songs  originated  — 
EarHest  efforts  to  collect  the  folk-songs  of  Bulgaria  and  Mace- 
donia —  Opposition  of  the  Greek  ecclesiastics  —  Song  of 
Liuben  the  haiduk  —  Resemblance  of  the  measures  to  Long- 
fellow's Hiawatha  —  Ivan  Popoff  and  the  Fairy  —  Marko,  the 
legendary  hero  —  Mental   traits   of  the  lyrics  —  Relation  of 

•  the  folk-songs  to  national  dances  —  The  hero  —  Musical  in- 
struments used  —  Art  music  of  Bulgaria  —  Works  of  modem 
composers — Musical  societies 238 

CHAPTER   XVIII 

Modern  Buluaiuan  Literature 

The  literary  revival  and  the  movement  for  political  liberty  — 
Christo  Boteff  —  Liuben  KaravelofT  —  Zachary  Stoyanoff  — 
Petko  R.  Shiveikofl",  the  founder  of  modern  Bulgarian  litera- 
ture —  His  political  and  educational  activities  —  Collections 
of  folk-songs  —  Translation  of  the  Bible  —  Ivan  Vazoff,  poet, 
dramatist,  and  novelist  —  Early  life  and  training  —  Con- 
nection with  the  revolutionary  movement  —  Early  verses  — 
Under  the  Yoke  —  Other  romance*)  —  Dramas  —  Vlaikoff  — 
Stoyan  Michailovsky,  satirist  —  Aleko  Constantinoff,  humour- 
ist —  Success  of  Bai  Ganio  —  Pencho  Slaveikoff,  the  foremost 
Bulgarian  writer  —  Pen-picture  of  the  poet  —  His  art  work  — 
Lyrical  compositions  —  His  great  epic  —  Petko  Todoroff, 
poet  and  dramatist  —  Author  of  the  finest  Bulgarian  prose  — 
Velitchkoff  —  Minor  poets  —  Political  and  philosophical  wri- 
ters       252 

CHAPTER   XIX 

PAINTFNa    AND    ScOLPTDRB 

High  rank  of  Bulgaria  in  painting  —  Earliest  artists  foreigners  — 
Professor  Ivan  D.  Mirkvicka  —  Wide  range  of  his  artistic 
activities  —  Studies  of  Bulgarian  peasants  —  His  historical 
paintings  —  Mural  paintings  in  the  Alexander  Nevsky  cathe- 
dral —  Founder  of  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  —  Yaroslav 
Veshin  —  Pavlovitch  and  Dospevsky  —  Professor  Anton 
Mitoff  —  Ivan  Angeloff  —  Other  painters  —  Sculpture  —  Col- 
lections of  paintings  —  Art  school  at  Sofia 277 

CHAPTER   XX 

Farms  and  Forests 

Agriculture  the  mainstay  —  Peasant  ownership  —  Common 
pasture  lands  —  Cereal  pnjducts  —  Cultivation  of  roses  — 
Orchard  fruits  —  Growth  of  tobacco  —  Rearing  of  live-stock 
—  Bulgarian  Agricultural  Bank  —  Need  of  agricultural  edu- 


Contents  xvii 


cation  —  yocial  life  of  the  peasant  farmers  —  i'oresta  of  Bul- 
garia —  Government  regulationa  —  The  forests  of  the  Rilo 
and  the  Rhodopo  mountains 288 

CHAFl^ER   XXI 

Industry  and  Trade 

Handicrafts  —  Decline  in  home  industries  —  Textile  industries 
at  Sliven  and  Gabrovo  —  Silk-spinning  at  Timovo  —  Saw 
mills  —  Social  and  economical  evils  at  the  industrial  centres 

—  Legislative  labour  restrictions  —  Encouragement  of  indus- 
try by  the  national  government  —  Special  concessions  —  Min- 
eral resources  and  mining  —  Numerous  mineral  springs  in  Bul- 
garia —  Commerce  —  Its  rapid  growth  —  Exports  and  im- 
ports —  Chief  trading  towTis  —  Railways  and  highwaj's  — 
System  of  measurements  —  The  Bulgarian  National  Bank         300 

CHAPTER   XXII 

QUEKN    ElEANORA    AND    PuiLANTHROPT 

The  Orthodox  church  not  directly  identified  with  philanthropic 
movements  —  Indifference  of  the  clergy  —  Queen  Eleanora 
at  the  heatl  of  philanthropic  prnjerts  —  The  Florence  Night- 
ingale of  the  Russo-Turkish  war  —  Her  services  in  the  two 
Balkan  wars  —  Tribute  of  Miss  Abbott  —  Pen  picture  by  Pro- 
fessor Markham  —  The  Clementine  hospital  and  its  needs  — 
Dearth  of  orphanges  in  Bulgaria 313 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

American  Influence  in  Bulgaria 

Large  influence  of  the  United  States  in  the  intellectual  develop- 
ment of  the  nation  —  Robert  College  —  Work  of  Dr.  Hamhn 

—  Dr.  Washburn  and  the  college  —  ^Tiat  it  has  done  for  Bul- 
garia —  Bulgarian  statesmen  e<lucatcd  at  Robert  College  — 
Present  condition  of  the  college  —  Influence  of  the  Am(!rican 
College  for  Women  at  Constantinople  —  Work  of  the  Ameri- 
can missionaries  —  American  Institute  at  Samokov  —  Ameri- 
can School  for  Girls  —  The  influence  it  has  exerted  through  its 
graduates 323 

CHAPTER   XXIV 

Sofia,  the  Modern  Capital 

The  site  of  an  ancient  city  —  Sofia  in  the  eighteenth  century  — 
Transformation  since  it  ceased  to  be  a  Turkish  town  — 
The  Djul-Dschamija  mosque  —  The  Bu^-uk  Djamia  —  The 
Black  Mosque  —  New  Cathedral  of  Alexander  Nevaky  — 
Bulgarian  National  Theatre  —  Palace  of  the  Holy  Synod  — 
Public  ba'.h  —  Post-office  —  Statue  of  the  Tsar  Liberator  — 
Public  gardens  —  The  suburbs  of  Sofia 341 


xviii  Contents 


CHAPTER  XXV 

Other  Cities  and  Towns 

Philippopolifl,  the  capital  of  Eastern  Rumelia  —  Principal  quarters 
in  the  city  —  Nature  of  the  population  —  Rustchuk  —  Tir- 
novo,  the  ancient  capital  —  Historic  church  of  the  Forty 
Martyrs  —  Recent  destruction  of  the  city  by  an  earthquake  — 
Varna  —  Burgaa  —  Shumeu  —  Stara  Zagora,  Sliven,  and 
Kazanhk  —  Dubnitza  —  Samokov  —  Rilo  ....     349 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

The  Bulqabs  of  Macedonia 

Why  Macedonia  was  given  back  to  the  Turks  after  the  Russo- 
Turkish  war  —  Revolt  in  the  Struma  valley  —  Organization 
of  the  komitadjis  —  Revolution  of  1902  —  How  it  was  sup- 
pressed by  the  Turks  —  The  wrecking  of  the  bank  at  Salonika 

—  Capture  of  Miss  Stone  —  Economic  conditions  in  Mace- 
donia —  Methods  of  leasing  the  land  —  Physical  and  mental 
characteristics  of  the  Bulgars  of  Macedonia       ....     359 

CHAPTER   XXVII 

Macedonia  after  the  Balkan  Wars 

Racial  and  religious  elements  of  the  population  of  Macedonia  — 
Conditions  of  the  province  at  the  close  of  the  first  Balkan  war 

—  Disappearance  of  the  population  —  The  countrj'  laid  waste 
by  the  Greeks  —  Work  of  pillage  and  murder  —  Verdict  of  Mr. 
Wallis  —  Conditions  in  the  part  of  Macedonia  occupied  by  the 
Servians  —  Report  of  the  Carnegie  commission  —  Oppression 
of  the  Bulgarian  population  —  Tyrannical  order  of  Kmg  Peter 

—  Methods  of  coercion  —  The  results 373 

Bibuography 397 

Index 401 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAOB 

Queen  Eleanora  of  Bulgaria Frontispiece 

MAP  OF  BULGARIA 2 

Rilo  MountainB  —  Rhodope  Mountains 4 

The  lekcr  River 6 

Tiraovo,  Capital  of  the  Old  Bulgarian  Kingdom     ....  12 

Prince  Boris  (852-884) 15 

The  Monk  Paissy            33 

Christo  Boteff,  Leader  of  the  Revolt  against  Turkey      ...  36 

Monument  of  the  Tsar  Liberator  at  Sofia 38 

Batak 42 

Shipka  Pass 44 

Prince  Alexander 51 

Royal  Palace  at  Sofia,  erected  by  Prince  Alexander         ...  57 

King  Ferdinand 62 

Prince  Borifl 71 

Stefan  Stamboloff 74 

A  Peasant  Citizen 8q 

Macedonian  Vlacks gg 

Ex-Prime  Minister  Gueshoff 100 

Father  and  Four  Sons  who  fought  in  the  First  Balkan  War  .  106 

General  Savoff 108 

First  Balkan  War:   Burying  the  Dciid 114 

Second  Balkan  War:  Troops  Marching  to  the  Front  .        .116 

Second  Balkan  War:  Ox  Train  with  War  Materials       .        .        .130 

xix 


XX  List  of  Illustrations 

PAOB 

Macedonian  Refugees  in  the  Mount.aina  near  Ichtiraan  137 

Refugees  from  Seres 145 

Macedonians  Fleeing  Greek  Atrocities 162 

Turkish  Exiles  from  Macedonia 179 

A  Bulgarian  Family 182 

Typical  Bulgarian  Costumes 185 

A  Bulgarian  Peasant 186 

Group  of  Peasants 188 

The  Sobranje  or  Parliament  House 192 

The  National  Assembly  (Sobranje)  in  Session 200 

A  Monastery  near  Sofia 208 

Monastery  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul 210 

Bird's-Eyc  View  of  Rilo  Monastery  —  Court,  of  Rilo  Monastery  .  217 

Primary  School  at  Sofia 230 

Secondary  School  at  Rustchuk  —  Agricultural  School  at  Plevna  .  234 

Public  Library-  at  Shumen 237 

Bulgarian  Musicians 240 

National  Dance:  The  Horo 249 

Ivan  VazofT 260 

Aleko  Constantinoff 208 

Pencho  Slaveikoflf  —  Petko  Todoroff 272 

Ivan  V.  Mirkvicka 278 

"  The  Rhodope  Wedding  " 280 

Anton  Mitoff 284 

Ploughing  w-ith  Water  BufTalo 288 

Harvesting  with  Camels  —  Threshing  \Vheat 290 

Factory  at  Gabrovo 301 

Queen  Eleanora  as  a  War  Nurse 314 

Clementine  Hospital,  under  the  direction  of  Queen  Eleanora        .  321 

Dr.  George  Washburn,  Educator  of  Bulgarian  Statesmen      .        .  331 

Bulgarian  Graduates  of  Robert.  College  and  their  Wives        .        .  336 

Samokov,  Seat  of  American  Schools 338 

Sofia,  the  Modem  Capital 342 

Alexander  Nevsky  Cathedral  —  Bulgarian  National  Theatre        .  346 

General  View  of  Philippopolis 350 

Rustchuk  —  Varna 353 

The  Captore  of  Miss  Ellen  M.  Stone 364 


List  of  Illustrations  xxi 

PAOB 

A  Patriarchal  B^amily 368 

A  Macedonian  Village  after  the  Balkan  Wars 374 

Macetlouiau  Bulgars  exiled  by  the  Greeks 370 

Macedonian  Bulgars  driven  into  exile  by  the  Servians  .  382 


BULGARIA 
AND  HER  PEOPLE 


CHAPTER    I 

GEOGRAPHY    OF    BULGARIA 

Physiography  of  the  country'  —  Nature  of  the  Balkan  mountains  — 
Divisionfl  of  the  Stara  Planina  —  The  mountains  of  southern  Bul- 
garia —  The  Rilofl  —  The  Rhodopes  —  Mountain  streams  —  The 
Maritza  river  valley  —  Picturesque  features  of  the  southern  Rhodopes 
—  LakeletH  and  mineral  springs  —  Climate  of  Bulgaria  —  Rainfall  — 
Flora  and  fauna  —  Area  and  population  of  the  country  —  Bul- 
garians in  the  United  States. 

The  kingdom  of  Bulgaria  forms  a  part  of  the 
mountainous  Balkan  peninsula.  The  physiography 
of  the  country  presents  a  combination  of  mountain 
chains  encircling  broad  and  fertile  mountain  valleys. 
The  average  elevation  of  the  kingdom  is  1,411  feet 
above  sea-level.  The  character  of  the  country  is 
determined  by  the  mountain  systems.  Structurally 
four  well  defined  sections  may  be  noted :  the  Danu- 
bian  table-land  in  the  north,  the  long  chain  of  the 
Balkan  mountains  extending  west-east  the  entire 
length  of  the  country,  the  high  and  elevated  mass 
of  the  Rilo-Rhodope  mountains  in  the  south,  and  the 
elevated  plains  between  these  two  great  parallel 
mountain  systems. 

The  Balkan  mountains,  or  Stara  Planina  as  they 

1 


Bulgaria  and  Her  People 


are  called  by  the  Riilgars,  extend  from  the  Timok 
river  in  the  west  to  the  Black  sea  in  the  east,  a 
length  of  375  miles,  the  average  width  being  about 
20  miles.  They  are  really  a  continuation  of  the 
Carpathian  system.  The  Balkans  have  been  formed 
by  horizontal  pressure  from  the  south.  They  have 
neither  abrupt  projections  nor  rocky  peaks,  but 
many  rounded  domes  which,  for  the  most  part,  are 
the  remains  of  ancient  volcanic  cones.  The  higher 
parts  have  a  core  of  granite  and  metamorphic  rock. 
The  northern  slopes  of  the  Balkans  present  a  suc- 
cession of  terraces,  which  are  so  gentle  that  one  may 
approach  the  crest  from  the  Danube  river  without 
coming  in  sight  of  mountains.  The  southern  slopes, 
on  the  other  hand,  are  very  abrupt,  with  numerous 
narrow  and  tortuous  defiles. 

There  are  three  well  marked  divisions  of  the  Bal- 
kan, or  Stara  Planina,  system.  The  western  divi- 
sion, a  continnation  of  the  Carpathian  mountains, 
extends  from  the  Servian  frontier  to  the  gorge  of 
the  Isker  river;  the  central  division  from  the  Isker 
to  the  Demir  Kapia;  and  the  eastern  division  from 
the  Demir  Kapia  to  the  Black  sea. 

The  western  Stara  Planina  is  flanked  north-south 
along  its  entire  length  by  parallel  lines  of  peaks 
abruptly  cut  into  rough  shapes.  This  is  the  most 
rugged  part  of  the  Balkans  and  is  extremely  diflRcult 
of  access.  It  has  only  two  passes  —  the  Sveti 
Nicola  (3,916  feet  above  the  sea),  through  which 
leads  the  highway  between  Lom  Palanka  and  the 
Danube  regions  to  the  Nishava  valley  in  Servia,  and 
the  Ginci  pass  (4,737  feet  elevation),  with  the  high- 


Geography  of  Bulgaria 


way  from  Lorn  Palanka  to  Sofia.  The  steepness  of 
the  slopes  and  the  narrowness  of  the  defiles  through 
which  the  streams  flow  have  combined  to  make  rail- 
way and  highway  construction  matters  of  costly 
engineering. 

The  centra]  Stara  Planina  also  has  a  number  of 
peaks  north  of  the  main  ridge.  The  Isker  river 
pierces  through  this  section  of  the  Balkans  on  its 
way  to  the  Danube,  forming  the  most  picturesque 
gorge  in  the  entire  system.  Two  other  passes  serve 
as  highways  over  the  central  section  of  the  Stara 
Planina  —  the  Baba  Konak  (3,200  feet),  through 
which  passes  the  road  from  Plevna  to  Sofia,  and 
Shipka  pass  (4,300  feet),  with  a  military  road  lead- 
ing from  Gabrovo  to  Kazanlik.  Yumrukchal  (7,790 
feet),  the  highest  peak  in  the  Balkan  system,  is  in 
the  middle  section  of  the  Stara  Planina. 

The  eastern  Stara  Planina  is  composed  of  broken- 
down  ridges,  which  gradually  merge  in  the  coastal 
plains  on  the  shores  of  tlie  Black  sea.  South  of  the 
Stara  Planina,  and  extending  parallel  with  it,  is  the 
Sredna  Gora.  The  Ichtiman  range  connects  the 
Sredna  Gora  with  the  Stara  Planina,  and  is  the 
watershed  that  separates  the  Tsker  and  the  Maritza 
basins.  The  fertile  plains  of  Zlatitza,  Karlovo, 
Kazanlik,  and  Sliven  are  between  the  Balkans  and 
the  Sredna  Gora.  These  are  the  famous  rose  val- 
leys of  Bulgaria,  with  hundreds  of  great  damask- 
rose  gardens  that  produce  the  world's  supply  of 
attar  of  roses. 

The  western  section  of  the  Stara  Planina  is  con- 
nected with  the  Rilo  mountains  by  the  Verila  Pla- 


Bulgaria  and  Her  People 


nina  and  the  Vitoslia,  thus  forming  the  watershed 
between  the  Isker  and  the  Struma  river  systems. 
Between  the  high  mountain  ridges  of  western  Bul- 
garia are  numerous  plains,  such  as  Sofia,  Samokov, 
Kustendil,  Dubnitza,  and  Radomir,  which  are  beds 
of  extinct  lakes. 

Southern  Bulgaria  is  crossed  by  the  Rilo-Rhodope 
mountains.  They  present  a  central  mass  with  vari- 
ous branches  stretching  out  in  all  directions  and 
with  huge  cliffs  cut  by  deep  valleys.  The  jagged 
summits  of  the  Rilo  mountains  contrast  strikingly 
with  the  rounded  summits  of  the  Balkans.  They 
have  much  of  the  character  of  the  Swiss  Alps.  The 
Rilo  mountains  are  the  highest  in  Bulgaria.  They 
contain  the  loftiest  peak  in  the  Balkan  peninsula^ — 
Mt.  Mussalla,  whose  altitude  is  9,588  feet.  They 
form  the  southern  buttress  of  the  Sofia  plain ;  their 
upper  slopes  are  dotted  with  numerous  lakes  in- 
closed among  rocky  cliffs;  and  their  lower  slopes 
are  well  forested  with  pine,  larch,  and  beech.  The 
Rilo  mountains  do  not  have  a  continuous  covering 
of  snow,  as  the  highest  peaks  do  not  reach  above  the 
snow-line;  but  recent  investigations  in  the  upper 
valley  of  the  Isker  and  on  the  slopes  of  Mt.  Mussalla 
have  established  the  fact  that  the  most  southern 
point  in  Europe,  where  traces  of  the  ice  age  have 
been  found,  is  in  the  northern  slopes  of  the  Rilo 
mountains. 

The  Rhodopes,  a  confused  net-work  of  mountain 
groups,  are  a  continuation  of  the  Rilo  mountains 
and  extend  through  southern  Bulgaria  a  distance  of 
180  miles.     They  are  highest  in  the  west;    in  the 


Geography  of  Bulgaria 


east  they  are  split  up  into  several  chains  extending 
in  different  directions,  which  gradually  sink  into  the 
shores  of  the  ^gean  sea. 

Many  streams  have  their  rise  on  the  northern 
slopes  of  the  Rhodopes  and  emerge  from  narrow 
valleys  into  the  wide  plain  of  the  Maritza.  The 
largest  of  these  streams  is  the  Arda,  which  has  its 
rise  in  the  central  part  of  the  range  and  flows  be- 
tween two  lines  of  hills,  finally  escaping  through  a 
narrow  gorge  to  join  the  Maritza  near  Adrianople. 
The  streams  that  rise  on  the  southern  slopes  are  for 
the  most  part  small,  the  largest  being  the  Jardimula, 
which  traverses  the  wide  cultivated  plain  east  of 
Gumuljina. 

On  the  western  side  of  the  Rhodopes  is  the  wide 
basin  of  the  Mesta,  which  rises  in  the  Kilo  moun- 
tains. It  flows  through  the  deeply  cut  valley  of  the 
Razlog  district  and  enters  the  plain  of  Nevrokop, 
but  resumes  the  character  of  a  mountain  torrent 
before  it  reaches  Drama  on  its  way  to  the  JEgcan. 
There  are  no  peaks  of  striking  grandeur  in  the 
Rhodopes,  the  two  most  important  being  the  Ibar 
(8,747)  and  the  Sivry  Chal  (8,671  feet).  The  chief 
beauty  of  these  mountains  consists  of  the  pineclad 
summits  and  slopes,  and  the  j)icturesque  upland  val- 
leys. The  northern  spurs  of  the  Rhodopes  termi- 
nate abruptly  above  the  plain  of  the  Maritza. 

Concerning  the  beauty  of  the  scenery  of  the  south- 
east slopes  of  the  Rhodopc  mountains,  the  Hon. 
James  Bryce  writes:  "  One  part  of  the  southeast 
Rhodopes,  the  part  which  lies  between  Xanthi  and 
Drama,  contains  one  of  the  most  beautiful  pieces  of 


Bulgaria  and  Her  People 


scenery  I  have  ever  seen.  It  is  a  valley  something 
like  thirty  miles  long,  traversed  by  a  river,  where 
the  railway  has  been  run  along  the  edge  of  the 
stream.  Mountains  rise  from  two  to  three  thousand 
feet  above  the  stream;  they  are  in  part  richly 
wooded,  and  break  in  splendid  crags  down  into  an 
excessively  narrow  valley,  along  which  there  is  no 
passage  except  the  railway.  The  winding  gorge, 
with  its  limestone  crags  towering  above  it,  is  won- 
derfully picturesque.  There  is  hardly  a  more  beau- 
tiful piece  of  railway  scenery  in  Europe,  or  perhaps 
in  America  either,  and  it  can  be  seen  in  perfect  com- 
fort in  travelling  along  the  line." 

The  most  elevated  and  rugged  part  of  the  Rho- 
dopes  is  in  the  west.  Here  the  formation  is  of  old 
crystalline  rocks,  granite  and  gneiss,  and  the  abrupt 
slopes  of  the  mountains  are  richly  forested.  A  fine 
carriage-road  is  being  constructed  by  King  Ferdi- 
nand over  this  section  of  the  Rhodopes  to  Mace- 
donia. It  crosses  the  ridge  at  an  elevation  of  nearly 
eight  thousand  feet. 

The  peculiar  manner  in  which  Bulgaria  is  broken 
up  into  mountain  ranges  makes  it  impossible  for 
the  streams  to  mingle,  hence  there  are  no  conse- 
quential rivers  in  the  country.  Those  draining  to 
the  north  and  joining  the  Danube  are  the  Isker, 
the  Lom,  the  Vid,  the  Ogosta,  and  the  Yantra.  All 
of  them,  excepting  the  Isker,  have  their  rise  in  the 
Stara  Planina,  and  are,  therefore,  short.  The  Isker 
rises  in  the  Rilo  mountains  and  breaks  through  the 
Stara  Planina  in  a  magnificent  gorge.  All  these 
streams  furnish  excellent  water-power. 


Geography  of  Bulgaria 


The  Maritza  river  drains  the  great  valley  between 
the  Balkans  and  the  Rhodope  mountains.  It  is  329 
miles  long  and  its  basin  has  an  area  of  20,790  square 
miles.  It  takes  its  rise  in  the  Balkans  and  flows 
southeast  to  the  ^gean  sea.  It  is  navigable  for 
small  boats  to  Adrianople,  but  beyond  that  point  it 
is  obstructed  by  rocks  and  sand-bars.  It  is  an  im- 
portant fertilizing  agent  to  the  plains  of  Philippo- 
polis.  Its  tributaries  from  the  Stara  Planina  are 
swift  and  deep  during  the  rainy  season  in  winter 
and  spring,  but  nearly  dry  during  summer  and  au- 
tumn ;  while  the  tributaries  from  the  forest-covered 
Rhodope  mountains  on  the  south  have  nearly  the 
same  flow  throughout  the  year.  The  two  largest 
tributaries  of  the  Maritza  are  the  Tundja  from  the 
Stara  Planina  and  the  Arda  from  the  Rhodopes. 
Both  join  the  Maritza  near  Adrianople.  The 
Struma,  in  southwestern  Bulgaria,  has  its  rise  on  the 
slopes  of  Vitosh,  near  Sofia,  and  flows  west  and  then 
south  to  the  ^gean. 

There  are  no  large  lakes  in  Bulgaria,  although  on 
the  higher  slopes  of  the  Rilo  and  Rhodope  moun- 
tains there  arc  more  than  one  hundred  small  lake- 
lets very  similar  to  the  "  sea  eyes  "  in  the  Carpa- 
thian mountains.  There  are  more  than  two  hundred 
hot  and  mineral  springs  in  the  country. 

The  climate  of  Bulgaria  is  relatively  severe  as 
compared  with  other  parts  of  Europe  in  the  same 
latitude,  due  in  the  main  to  the  general  physiogra- 
phy of  the  Balkan  peninsula.  North  of  the  Balkan 
mountains  the  plain  is  exposed  1o  the  bitter  north 
winds,  and  the  thermometer  sometimes  falls  as  low 


8  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

as  twenty-four  degrees  below  zero  (Fahrenheit). 
But  the  summer  heat  is  less  intense  because  the 
same  range  shuts  out  the  hot  winds  from  the  south. 
The  Sofia  tableland,  although  covered  with  snow  in 
winter,  has  a  more  equable  climate  than  most  other 
parts  of  the  kingdom.  The  air  is  bracing,  the  sum- 
mer nights  are  cool,  and  the  maximum  temperature 
is  seldom  higher  than  eighty-six  degrees  or  the  min- 
imum lower  than  two  degrees.  The  eastern  part  of 
the  country,  however,  suffers  from  both  the  extremes 
of  heat  and  cold.  The  Black  sea  sometimes  freezes 
over  at  Varna,  and  the  eastern  coastal  jjlain  is  ex- 
posed to  violent  winds.  The  sheltered  plain  of  the 
Maritza  has  a  comparatively  mild  winter,  although 
the  summers  are  hot.  January  is  the  coldest  month 
in  Bulgaria,  and  July  is  the  hottest  month. 

The  heaviest  rainfall  is  in  the  spring,  and  the 
mean  annual  rainfall  for  the  country  is  about 
twenty-seven  inches.  In  the  less  favoured  regions 
on  the  shores  of  the  Black  sea  the  average  is  less 
than  eighteen  inches.  Generally  speaking  Bulgaria 
is  a  healthful  countiy,  the  only  unhealthful  regions 
being  the  marshes  along  the  Danube  and  on  the 
shores  of  the  Black  sea. 

The  flora  of  Bulgaria  is  both  rich  and  varied.  On 
the  broad  and  gentle  northern  plain  of  the  Stara 
Planina  the  spring  flowers  are  very  like  those  found 
on  the  steppes  of  Russia  —  crocuses,  orchids,  irises, 
and  tulips;  and  both  the  Rilo  and  the  Rhodope 
mountain  regions  are  rich  in  indigenous  plants  that 
are  representative  of  the  flora  of  the  Alpine  regions. 
The  jasmine  grows  wild  on  the  southern  slopes  of 


Geography  of  Bulgaria  9 

the  Balkans,  and  the  lilac  through  the  Rilo  and 
Rhodope  mountains.  Among  the  wild  J3owers  of  the 
plain  are  the  salvia,  tlie  pink  campion,  the  ragged 
rohin,  and  the  yellow  hipin. 

The  northern  slopes  of  the  Balkans  are  liberally 
wooded,  but  the  southern  slopes  are  comparatively 
bare.  Portions  of  the  Rilo  and  Rhodope  mountains 
are  forested.  The  principal  trees  are  oak,  beech, 
ash,  pine,  poplar,  and  juniper.  The  pines  are  simi- 
lar to  those  found  in  the  Himalayas.  The  plains  of 
the  country  are  for  the  most  part  treeless,  barring 
scrub  oak,  sumac,  thorn,  and  elder.  During  the  long 
period  of  Turkish  misrule  the  forests  of  the  moun- 
tains were  largely  destroyed.  By  a  law  of  1889 
deforestation  is  prohibited,  and  the  forests  of  the 
kingdom  have  been  placed  under  the  supervision  of 
state  foresters. 

Wild  animals  are  abundant  in  Bulgaria.  Eagles, 
vultures,  kites,  owls,  and  smaller  birds  of  prey  are 
found  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom;  although  song 
birds  are  less  abundant.  The  principal  song  birds 
are  the  nightingales,  the  golden  orioles,  and  the 
hoopoes.  Wild  geese,  swans,  pelicans,  and  herons 
haunt  the  marshes  of  the  Danube  and  the  lagoons 
of  the  shores  of  the  Black  sea.  Woodcock,  quail, 
and  partridge  are  in  the  forests  on  the  slopes  of 
the  Balkan  and  Rhodope  mountains.  The  crane 
hibernates  in  the  Maritza  valley.  The  stork  every- 
where in  Bulgaria  adds  a  picturesque  feature  to  vil- 
lage life.  Small  browii  bears  are  numerous  in  the 
Rhodope  mountains.  Roe  deer  and  chamois  range 
the  forests  of  both   the  Rhodope  and   the  Balkan 


10  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

mountains  and  lynx  are  in  the  Sredna  Gora.    Wild 
boar,  badger,  and  otter  inhabit  the  marshes. 

The  area  of  the  kingdom  of  Bulgaria,  before  the 
recent  Balkan  wars,  was  36,188  square  miles.  By 
the  conditions  of  the  treaty  of  Bucharest,  2,969 
square  miles  in  the  Silistria-Baltchik  district  were 
ceded  to  Rumania,  but  she  received  8,851  square 
miles  in  Macedonia  and  Thrace  as  her  part  of  the 
former  Turkish  possessions,  so  that  the  present  area 
of  the  kingdom  is  approximately  43,310  square 
miles. 

The  population  of  Bulgaria  before  the  recent  wars 
was  4,329,108  people.  There  were  286,000  inhabit- 
ants in  the  district  ceded  to  Rumania ;  and,  with  the 
addition  in  the  new  territories,  the  present  popula- 
tion of  the  kingdom  is  about  4,700,000.  The  coun- 
try is  sparsely  settled,  there  being  only  forty-five 
inhabitants  to  the  square  mile. 

The  number  of  Bulgarians  in  the  United  States  is 
not  large.  It  probably  does  not  exceed  thirty-five 
thousand,  including  Bulgarians  from  Macedonia. 
Between  twelve  and  fifteen  thousand  returned  to  the 
homeland  during  the  Balkan  wars,  some  of  whom 
were  killed  and  many  wounded.  The  largest  Bul- 
garian settlement  is  on  the  Illinois  side  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi river  opposite  the  city  of  St.  Louis.  It  in- 
cludes the  towns  of  East  St.  Louis,  Collinsville, 
Madison,  and  Granite  City.  These  towns  have  alto- 
gether about  seven  thousand  Bulgarians.  They  have 
their  own  churches,  publish  newspapers  in  the  Bul- 
garian language,  and  possess  other  national  insti- 
tutions.   The  Bulgarians  are  regarded  as  sober,  in- 


Geography  of  Bulgaria  11 

dustrious,  and  law-abiding  people.  Elsewhere  in 
the  United  States  there  are  smaller  Bulgarian  com- 
munities. It  is  to  be  regretted  that  our  Bulgarian 
immigrants  so  generally  find  their  way  to  steel  mills 
rather  than  to  farms,  since  in  their  own  country  they 
make  excellent  agriculturalists. 


CHAPTEE    II 

THE    OLD   BULGARIAN    KINGDOM 

Earliest  inhabitants  of  Bulgaria  —  Tho  ancient  'I'hraco-Illyrian.s  —  Rci^iiU 
of  Philip  of  Maccdon  —  Arrival  of  the  Bulgars  —  Their  subj\ip;a- 
tiou  of  the  native  Slavic  tribes  —  The  rule  of  Asparuh  and  Kruni  — 
Prince  Boris  and  the  adoption  of  Christianity — ■  Reif^n  of  Simeon  — 
The  royal  palace  at  Prcslav  —  Golden  ape  of  Bulf^arian  literature  — 
Conflicts  with  the  fiyzantine  emperors  —  The  Bogomil  heresy  — 
Their  doctrines  and  persecution —..Bulgaria  a  part  of  the  Greek 
empire  —  The  house  of  Asen  —  The  new  caj)ital  at  Tiruovo  —  The 
fate  of  Baldwin,  the  Prankish  emperor  —  Discord  in  Bulgaria  — 
; Conquest  of  the  country  by  the  Turks. 

Little  is  definitely  known  concerning  the  early 
history  of  the  Bulgars.  The  country  that  they  oc- 
cupy to-day  was  inhabited  at  the  dawn  of  tlie  Chris- 
tian era  by  ancient  Tbraco-Illyrian  tribes.  They 
were  an  agricultural  people,  governed  by  democratic 
local  institutions,  without  national  leaders  or  cen- 
tral organization,  the  political  unit  being  the  tribe. 
Herodotus  wrote  concerning  them  that  **  if  they 
were  only  ruled  by  one  man,  and  could  only  agree 
among  themselves,  they  would  become  the  greatest 
of  all  nations."  The  ancient  lllyrian  speech  is 
proI)ably  represented  to-day  in  Albania. 

Philip  of  Macedon  brought  the  warring  tribes  of 
the  Balkans  under  his  control  and  federated  them 
into  the  Macedonian  empire.  But  the  union  was 
short-lived;  and  upon  the  death  of  Alexander  the 
Great  they  "  returned  to  the  congenial  business  of 
flying  at  one  another's  throats."    For  a  century  the 

12 


The  Old  Bulgarian  Kingdom  13 

Thracian  and  lUyrian  warriors  struggled  with  the 
Roman  conquerors,  but  the  country  was  jBnally 
brought  under  Roman  influence.  Shortly  after  the 
Roman  conquest,  hordes  of  wild  and  uncouth  war- 
riors began  to  pour  into  the  peninsula.  The  Goths 
first  ravaged  the  country;  the  terrible  Huns  fol- 
lowed; and  in  many  parts  of  the  Balkans  the  entire 
native  population  perished  at  the  hands  of  these 
barbarians. 

The  Bulgars  arrived  in  the  seventh  century. 
Their  origin  is  a  vexed  question.  Recent  ethno- 
graphic and  anthropological  investigations  suggest 
that  the  Bulgars  originally  belonged  to  the  Turanian 
race  and  that  ethnically  they  were  related  to  the 
Tatars,  the  Finns,  and  the  Huns.  "We  first  hear  of 
them  as  wild,  fierce  liorsemen  occupying  a  tract  of 
land  between  the  Ural  mountains  and  the  Volga 
river.  They  cros.scd  the  Danube  in  the  year  679; 
subjugated  the  Slavic  tribes,  and  advanced  to  the 
gates  of  Constantinople.  The  Byzantine  empire 
was  forced  to  cede  tliem  large  grants  of  land  in  the 
Balkan  peninsula  and  to  pay  them  an  annual  trib- 
ute. The  Bulgars  welded  the  scattered  Slavic  tribes 
into  a  compact  and  powerful  state;  they  assimi- 
lated the  language,  customs,  and  institutions  of  the 
Sla^dc  tribes  which  they  concpicred,  and  in  reality 
became  themselves  Slavs.  For  several  centuries 
they  played  an  important  role  in  the  historj^  of 
southwestern  Europe,  and  on  several  occasions  they 
threatened  the  very  existence  of  the  Byzantine  em- 
pire. 

According  to  Bulgarian  traditions,  Asparuh  was 


14  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

the  first  Bulgar  warrior  to  leave  the  ancient  home 
on  the  Volga,  where  the  ruins  of  Bulgari,  their 
former  capital,  are  still  pointed  out  to  tlie  traveller. 
He  crossed  the  Dniester  and  the  Dnieper,  and  set- 
tled at  a  place  called  Onklos  between  the  Transyl- 
vanian  Alps  and  the  Danube.  By  the  seventh  cen- 
tury his  followers  had  occupied  the  country  that 
bears  their  name  to-day  and  absorbed  the  native 
races.  One  of  the  earliest  Bulgar  rulers,  concerning 
whom  we  have  authentic  information,  is  Krum,  who, 
to  borrow  Gibbon's  phrase,  '*  could  boast  the  hon- 
our of  having  slain  in  battle  one  of  the  successors 
of  Augustus  and  Constantino."  He  captured  Sofia, 
the  present  capital  of  the  coimtry,  in  the  year  809, 
and  occupied  large  parts  of  what  are  to-day  the 
kingdoms  of  Servia  and  Rumania.  The  Byzantine 
emperor,  in  an  attempt  to  drive  Krum  out  of  the 
Balkans,  was  himself  killed  and  the  entire  imperial 
army  was  annihilated.  The  \nctorious  Bulgars  then 
marched  into  Thrace  and  laid  siege  to  Constanti- 
nople. The  Byzantine  rulers  made  terms  with 
Krum,  offering  him  a  largo  yearly  tribute,  quanti- 
ties of  fine  clothing,  and  a  fixed  number  of  Greek 
maidens.  Krum  conquered  the  Struma  valley,  and 
when  he  died  his  rule  extended  from  Adrianople  to 
the  Carpathian  mountains. 

The  next  Bulgarian  ruler  concerning  whom  we 
have  reliable  information  was  Omortag.  lie  made 
an  expedition  against  the  Franks,  his  neighbours  on 
the  northwest,  and  conquered  the  Drave  and  the 
Save  river  valleys.  An  inscription  on  a  pillar  in  the 
recently  destroyed  Church  of  the  Forty  Martyrs  at 


I'ainted  by  Ivan  \'    Mirkvioka. 

PRINCE  BORIS   (852-884). 
Reprodu.-ed  by  permission  of  the  artist. 


The  Old  Bulgarian  Kingdom  15 

Tirnovo  tells  of  his  execution  of  Christian  mission- 
aries and  of  his  fruitless  efforts  to  prevent  the  adop- 
tion of  Christianity  by  his  people. 

The  Christian  religion  liad  been  spread  through- 
out Bulgaria  by  the  large  number  of  captives,  many 
of  whom  were  priests  and  bishops,  that  Omortag 
and  his  successors  had  brought  from  the  Byzantine 
empire.  Bulgaria  was,  moreover,  surrounded  by 
nations  that  had  been  converted  by  the  teachings  of 
the  two  great  Slavic  missionaries  and  scholars, 
Kyril  and  Method;  hence  Prince  Boris  (852-884), 
for  purely  political  reasons,  decided  to  adopt  the 
religion  that  had  been  proscribed  by  his  predeces- 
sors. By  a  formal  edict  the  Christian  religion  was 
adopted  in  Bulgaria  in  9G4  and  Prince  Boris  was 
baptized  by  the  Byzantine  emperor  Michael  III. 

Soon  after  the  adoption  of  Christianity  in  Bul- 
garia, the  great  schism  broke  out  between  the  east- 
ern and  the  western  churches,  and  Boris  wavered 
for  a  long  time  as  to  whicli  branch  of  the  church  he 
would  offer  the  allegiance  of  his  country.  But  the 
refusal  of  tlie  pope  of  Rome  to  recognize  an  inde- 
pendent national  church  in  Bulgaria,  led  him  to 
cast  the  lot  of  his  country  with  the  Greek  patriarch. 
The  independence  of  the  Bulgarian  national  church 
was  recognized;  and  this  concession  had  special  his- 
torical significance  in  the  separation  of  the  national 
church  of  Bulgaria  from  the  Greek  Orthodox  churcli 
in  our  own  day.  ITe  secured  the  rights  of  the  Bul- 
garian primates  to  the  title  of  patriarchs,  whose 
sees  were  successively  at  Preslav,  Sofia,  Voden, 
Prespa,  and  Ochrida.     Boris  retired  to  a  monastery 


16  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 


in  888.    He  was  succeeded  first  by  his  son  Vladimir 
and  later  by  his  son  Simeon. 

It  was  during  the  reign  of  Simeon  (893-927),  as 
Gibbon  points  out,  that  "  Bulgaria  assumed  a  rank 
among  the  civilized  powers  of  the  earth."  This 
period  was  the  golden  age  of  Bulgarian  history. 
The  kingdom  extended  from  the  Adriatic  to  the 
Black  sea,  and  from  the  Save  river  and  the  Carpa- 
thians to  Thessaly.  Simeon's  title  was  **  tsar  of  all 
the  Bulgars  and  the  Greeks,"  and  his  title  was  rec- 
ognized by  the  pope  of  Rome.  He  had  been  care- 
fully educated  at  Constantinople  and  had  studied 
"  the  masterpieces  of  ancient  eloquence  and  philos- 
ophy with  so  much  zeal  that  his  comrades  called  him 
half  Greek.  But  his  acquaintance  with  Greek  liter- 
ature did  not  dispose  him  to  look  with  favour  upon 
the  Greek  empire."  He  encouraged  literature,  art, 
and  industry;  and  Preslav,  his  capital,  rivalled 
Constantinople  and  its  splendour  excited  universal 
admiration.  John  the  Exarch,  a  contemporary  of 
Simeon,  gives  this  account  of  the  palace  at  Preslav: 
"  If  a  stranger  coming  from  afar  enters  the  outer 
court  of  the  princely  dwelling,  he  will  be  amazed, 
and  ask  many  questions  as  he  walks  up  to  the  gates ; 
and  if  he  goes  within,  he  will  see  on  either  side  build- 
ings decorated  with  stone  and  wainscoted  with  wood 
of  various  colours.  If  he  goes  yet  further  into  the 
courtyard,  he  will  behold  lofty  palaces  and  churches 
decorated  with  marbles  and  frescoes  without  and 
with  silver  and  gold  within.  If  he  perchance  espy 
the  prince  sitting  in  robes  covered  with  pearls,  with 
chains  of  coin  about  his  neck,  bracelets  on  his  wrists, 


The  Old  Bulgarian  Kingdom  17 

girt  about  with  a  purple  girdle  and  a  sword  of  gold 
at  his  side,  tlien  will  he  say  when  he  returns  home 
*  I  know  not  how  to  describe  it,  for  only  thine  owti 
eyes  could  comprehend  such  splendour.'  " 

While  Slavic  literature  had  gradually  developed 
since  the  days  of  Kyril  and  Method,  the  reign  of 
Simeon  is  remembered  as  the  golden  age  of  Bulga- 
rian letters.  He  was  himself  an  author  of  no  mean 
ability  and  he  gathered  at  his  court,  Preslav,  the 
ablest  writers  and  thinkers  of  his  age.  John  the 
Exarch  wrote  a  descriptive  account  of  the  creation 
of  the  world  w]ii(3li  he  dedicated  to  Simeon.  The 
orations  of  Athanasius  were  translated  into  the  ver- 
nacular; Gregory,  a  Bulgarian  monk,  wrote  a  life 
of  Alexander  the  Great  and  compiled  a  Bible  his- 
tory; an  encyclopajdia  of  contemporary  learning 
was  translated  from  Greek  authors;  and  several 
notable  treatises  were  composed  on  Slavonic  phil- 
ology. 

Simeon  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Peter  (927-969) 
whose  long  reign  marked  a  decline  in  Bulgarian 
statesmanship.  His  marriage  with  the  daughter  of 
the  Byzantine  ruler  brought  hira  under  the  evil  influ- 
ence of  the  Greek  court.  The  Magyars  invaded  his 
coimtry  five  times  and  caused  great  damage ;  and  his 
kingdom  was  menaced  by  an  alliance  witli  Russia. 
Sviatoslav,  a  Russian  chief,  arrived  with  ten  thou- 
sand men  at  the  mouth  of  the  Danube;  Silistria  was 
conquered,  and  an  alliance  with  the  Byzantine  ruler 
averted  the  calamity  of  the  capital  of  Bulgaria  fall- 
ing into  the  liands  of  the  Russians.  While  the  coun- 
try was  thus  menaced,  Servia,  which  had  been  added 


18  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

to  Bulgaria  during  the  reign  of  Simeon,  regained 
her  independence. 

The  Bogomil  heresy  added  to  the  dissensions  that 
prevailed  during  the  troubled  reign  of  Peter.  Sim- 
ilar heresies  had  appeared  among  the  Waldensians 
and  Albigenses  of  France,  but  the  teachings  of  Bo- 
gomil, the  author  of  a  number  of  mystical  books, 
found  readier  acceptance  among  the  Bulgars  than 
similar  doctrines  had  hitherto  found  among  other 
peoples  in  Europe;  for  the  decadence  of  tlie  coun- 
try, under  Greek  influence,  had  been  as  marked  in 
religion  as  in  letters  and  political  affairs.  The  new 
religion  was  at  bottom  a  protest  against  the  immo- 
rality and  autocracy  of  the  Orthodox  clergy. 

The  Bogomiles  denied  the  diWne  birth  of  Christ. 
His  miracles  they  interpreted  in  a  spiritual,  not  a 
material  sense.  They  likewise  denied  the  validity 
of  sacraments  and  ceremonies;  baptism  was  re- 
served for  adults  only,  and  their  church  organiza- 
tion was  purely  congregational  in  character.  They 
selected  their  ministers,  women  as  well  as  men,  from 
their  own  members,  and  ordination  was  conferred 
by  the  congregation.  They  declared  Christ  to  be 
the  son  of  God  only  through  grace,  like  the  other 
prophets.  The  bread  and  wine  of  the  eucharist  they 
held  as  merely  symbolical,  and  not  transformed  into 
flesh  and  blood.  Images  of  the  cross  they  regarded 
as  idols  and  they  characterized  the  worship  of  saints 
as  idolatry.  They  regarded  bloodshed  with  horror ; 
forbade  participation  in  warfare,  and  denounced 
capital  punishment.  The  Orthodox  church  perse- 
cuted them  with  fire  and  sword,  as  the  Roman  church 


The  Old  Bulgarian  Kingdom  19 

had  persecuted  the  Waldensians  and  the  Albigenses. 
The  empress  Theodora  is  said  to  have  hanged  or 
drowned  more  than  one  himdred  thousand.  The 
persecution  oi'  the  church  in  Bulgaria  was  so  great 
that  many  fled  to  Scrvia,  where  they  continued  to 
reside  until  expelled  by  King  Stephen  at  the  end  of 
the  twelfth  century.  Witli  the  coming  of  the  Turks 
to  the  Balkan  peninsula,  their  persecutions  were  at 
an  end,  and  tiiey  continued  their  individual  exist- 
ence down  to  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
when  the  few  survivors  were  taken  into  the  Roman 
Catholic  church. 

The  political  distractions  and  religious  dissen- 
sions of  the  reign  of  teeter  had  resulted  in  a  divi- 
sion of  the  Bulgarian  kingdom.  Shishman,  a  Bul- 
garian noblcTiian  of  Tirnovo,  founded  a  western 
Bulgarian  empire  that  included  most  of  Macedonia 
and  parts  of  Albania.  His  descendants  continued 
to  rule  western  Bulgaria  for  nearly  half  a  century 
after  the  eastern  kingdom  had  fallen  under  the 
Byzantine  yoke. 

Boris  II  succeeded  Peter  as  ruler  of  eastern  Bul- 
garia. But  the  Greeks  took  advantage  of  an  inva- 
sion of  the  Russians,  and  in  971  Boris  was  deposed. 
The  westeni  part  of  the  kingdom  under  Sanmel 
(976-1014),  however,  rose  to  importance.  He  con- 
quered most  of  the  Balkan  i)eninsula  and  was  undis- 
puted ruler  from  llio  Danube  to  the  Morea.  Tlie 
Byzantine  emperor,  Basil  IT,  a  ferocious  tyrant  who 
concealed  the  most  detestable  vices  under  the  mask 
of  rigid  piety,  and  who  had  conquered  the  territory 
of  Boris  II,  found  in  Samuel  a  foeman  worth v  of 


20  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

bis  steel.  A  historian  of  this  period  writes  of  Basil 
II:  "  From  his  early  years  this  heartless  ascetic 
seemed  to  have  but  one  desire,  the  complete  subju- 
gation of  the  Bulgarian  race.  It  took  him  forty 
years  to  accomplish  his  task,  but  at  last  he  suc- 
ceeded, and  is  now  chiefly  Imown  by  the  epithet  of 
'  the  Bulgar  slayer,'  which  his  cruelties  and  his  vic- 
tories won  for  him." 

Basil  conducted  two  unsuccessful  campaigns 
against  Samuel.  In  a  third  campaign  against  the 
Bulgars  he  captured  fifteen  thousand  soldiers  and 
*'  with  a  refinement  of  cruelty  unparalleled  even  in 
the  annals  of  that  barbarous  age,  Basil  had  their 
eyes  put  out,  allowing  every  hundredth  man  to  re- 
tain one  eye,  in  order  that  he  might  be  able  to  guide 
his  comrades  to  the  headquarters  of  their  sover- 
eign." l\nien  Samuel  beheld  the  atrocities  of  his 
protagonist,  he  fell  into  a  swoon  and  died  ten  days 
later.  His  son  Gabriel  succeeded  him  and  for  a  few 
years  kept  at  bay  the  blood-thirsty  Greek  emperor; 
but  he  was  murdered  by  his  cousin  in  1018,  at  the 
instigation  of  the  emperor,  and  western  Bulgaria 
became  a  dependency  of  the  Byzantine  empire. 

During  the  one  hundred  sLxty-eight  years  (1018- 
1186)  that  Bulgaria  was  an  integral  part  of  the 
Greek  empire  every  effort  was  made  to  stifle  the 
national  feelings  of  the  people.  Although  Basil 
proclaimed  that  he  would  maintain  the  rights  of  the 
conquered  country,  he  divided  it  into  provinces,  over 
which  he  placed  governors  with  civil  and  military 
authority.  These  officials  rarely  held  office  for  more 
than  a  year ;   and  as  they  had  paid  dearly  for  their 


The  Old  Bulgarian  Kingdom  21 

posts,  tlicy  had  to  recoup  themselves  promptly,  with 
the  result  that  "  scarcely  had  one  official  been  sati- 
ated than  another  hungry  placeman  appeared  in  his 
stead."  William  Miller  quite  truly  remarks  in  this 
connection:  "  Under  the  Greek  rule  the  Bulgarians 
had  a  foretaste  of  the  coming  Turkish  domination. 
The  men  were  different,  but  the  methods  were  very 
much  the  same." 

The  religious  liberties  of  the  Bulgars  were  also 
curtailed.  Basil  substituted  the  title  of  archbishop 
for  that  of  patriarch  of  tlie  national  Bulgarian 
church;  Greeks  were  appointed  to  fill  this  and  all 
other  important  ecclesiastical  posts;  Bulgarian 
church  books  were  burned,  and,  whenever  possible, 
the  Greek  liturgy  was  substituted  for  the  Slavic. 

The  long  misrule  of  the  Greeks  was  brought  to 
a  close  by  the  rapaciousness  of  the  emperor  Isaac 
Angelus.  In  order  to  meet  the  enormous  expenses 
connected  with  the  marriage  of  his  daughter  to  the 
king  of  Hungary,  and  after  extorting  the  last  far- 
thing from  the  sullen  J^ulgars,  lie  ordered  their  flocks 
and  herds  to  be  seized.  This  was  tlie  last  straw. 
Under  the  leadership  of  Ivan  and  Peter  Asen,  who 
were  descended  from  the  Bulgarian  king  Shishman, 
an  insurrection  broke  out;  the  Greek  ofllcials  were 
driven  from  the  country,  and  with  such  grace  as  he 
could  command,  the  feeble  emperor  was  forced  to 
recognize  the  independence  of  Bulgaria.  Ivan  Asen 
was  crowned  tsar  of  the  Bulgarians  and  the  Greeks, 
and  Tirnovo  was  made  his  capital. 

The  reign  of  Ivan  Asen  covered  onl\'  nine  years 
(1186-1195).    During  his  rei.ini  tho  boundaries  of  the 


22  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

rejuvenated  kingdom  were  established;  successive 
armies  sent  against  him  from  Coustautinople  were 
repulsed,  and  a  period  of  prosperity  was  inaugu- 
rated. He  fell  at  the  hands  of  an  assassin  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  brother  Peter,  who  had  been  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  the  insurrection  that  liberated  his 
country  from  the  oppressive  Greek  yoke.  Peter  also 
fell  as  Ivan  had  fallen,  and  the  crown  was  seized  by 
Kaloyan  (1197-1207).  He  formed  an  alliance  with 
the  Greeks  against  the  crusaders  and  won  a  great 
victory  over  Baldwin  in  a  battle  near  Adrianople 
on  the  15th  of  April,  1205.  The  Frank  emperor  was 
taken  captive  to  Tirnovo  and  his  fate  is  one  of  the 
mysteries  of  history.  It  is  known  that  he  was  im- 
prisoned in  a  ruined  castle  there,  and  nothing  more. 
Whether  he  met  with  a  violent  death  or  was  treated 
kindly  at  the  hands  of  his  captor  has  never  been 
established.  Years  after  the  battle  a  false  Baldwin 
appeared  in  Flanders,  although  it  was  generally  held 
that  the  Frankish  emperor  had  long  before  this  died. 
Upon  the  death  of  Kaloyan  the  throne  was  occupied 
by  his  nephew  Boril,  and  after  much  internal  dis- 
turbances he  was  deposed  and  Ivan  Asen  II  (1218- 
1241),  the  greatest  of  the  rulers  of  the  Asen  dynasty, 
succeeded  him.  His  reign  was  one  of  peace,  and  a 
contemporary  wrote  of  liim:  "He  has  neither 
drawn  his  sword  against  his  own  countrymen,  nor 
disgraced  himself  by  the  murder  of  Greeks,  and  all 
other  nations  loved  him."  He  was  a  man  of  great 
enlightenment,  and  governed  his  country  with  jus- 
tice, wisdom,  and  moderation.  Bulgaria  attained 
an  unprecedented  degree  of  prosperity  under  his 


The  Old  Bulgarian  Kingdom  23 

rule;  literature,  the  arts,  and  commerce  flourished; 
Tirnovo  was  enlarged  and  embellished ;  many 
schools,  churches,  and  monasteries  were  founded, 
and  under  his  wise  leadership  Bulgaria  became  the 
first  state  in  the  Balkan  peninsula. 

At  his  death  in  1241  the  crown  of  Ivan  Asen  II 
passed  in  rapid  succession  to  his  sons,  mere  lads, 
who  died  violent  deaths.  Then  it  passed  to  their 
cousin  Kaliman  II,  who  likewise  died  a  violent  death, 
and  in  default  of  a  lineal  descendant,  the  Bulgars 
elected  Constantino  of  Servia  as  their  ruler.  His 
marriage  with  a  Greek  princess  brought  great  dis- 
aster to  the  nation.  Q'he  Greek  wives  of  Bulgarian 
rulers,  notes  an  English  historian,  have  left  evil 
records  behind  them,  but  Constantino's  consort  was 
the  worst  of  them  all.  ^*  vShe  made  her  husband's 
severe  illness  an  excuse  for  seizing  supreme  power 
for  herself  in  the  name  of  her  boy  Michael.  By 
intrigues  she  '  removed  '  all  the  most  dangerous  of 
the  Bulgarian  nobles.  Meanwhile  the  empire  lay 
open  to  the  attacks  of  the  Tatars,  who,  after  over- 
running Rumania,  had  begun  to  cross  the  Danube. 
In  this  extremity,  with  a  disabled  tsar  and  a  design- 
ing woman  on  the  throne,  Bulgaria  threw  itself  into 
the  arms  of  a  restless  adventurer,  named  Ivajlo, 
who  had  abandoned  the  profession  of  a  shepherd 
for  the  more  congenial  one  of  a  brigand." 

Ivajlo  told  the  Bulgars  that  the  holy  saints  of 
their  country  had  apj^eared  to  him  in  dreams  and 
had  prepared  him  for  the  great  mission  of  driving 
the  Tatars  from  the  kingdom.  The  people  flocked 
to  his  standard;   he  had  remarkable  success  in  his 


24  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

campaigiis  against  them,  but  Constantine  was  killed, 
and  his  crafty  widow  became  the  wife  of  the  con- 
queror. A  rival  for  the  throne,  however,  appeared, 
George  Tcrterii,  who  was  sprung  from  an  old  Bul- 
garian family.  His  aristocratic  connections  led  the 
Bulgars  to  prefer  him  to  the  humble  shepherd  with 
the  scheming  Greek  consort.  Ivajlo  fled  to  the  court 
of  the  chief  of  the  Tatar  horde.  Terterii  was  not 
able  to  stem  the  tide  of  the  Tatar  invasion;  with  the 
death  of  his  son  the  Bulgarian  empire  gradually 
went  to  pieces.  Tlie  Bulgars  elected  Michael,  a  de- 
scendant of  the  old  Rumanian  aristocracy,  as  their 
ruler  in  1323.  But  conflicts  with  Servia  and  the 
appearance  of  the  Turks  soon  caused  the  fall  of  the 
old  Bulgarian  kingdom. 

Stara  Zagora  and  Philippopolis  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Turks  in  1362;  Sofia  was  soon  cap- 
tured ;  and  with  the  fall  of  the  kingdom  of  Servia 
on  the  plain  of  Kossovo,  the  15th  of  June,  1389,  the 
Balkan  peninsula  was  doomed  to  five  centuries  of 
Turkish  oppression. 

Concerning  the  factors  involved  in  the  fall  of  the 
old  Bulgarian  empire,  Mr.  William  Miller,  the  Eng- 
lish historian  of  the  Balkan  states,  writes:  "  The  old 
Bulgarian  system  was  concentrated  in  an  aristoc- 
racy which,  except  under  the  iron  hand  of  a  strong 
tsar,  was  rarely  united.  The  masses,  degraded  to 
the  level  of  serfs  and  chained  to  the  soil,  had  no 
common  interests  with  their  lords.  The  clergy,  in- 
stead of  striving  to  raise  and  influence  the  people, 
wasted  their  energies  in  hair-splitting  theories  or 
passed  their  lives  in  monkish  seclusion.     Their  in- 


The  Old  Bulgarian  Kingdom 25 

tolerance  drove  the  Bogomiles  of  Bulgaria,  as  of 
Bosnia,  into  the  arms  of  the  Turks,  who  seemed  to 
the  persecuted  lieretics  more  generous  than  their 
Christian  oppressors.  Morally,  Bulgaria  was  slowly 
but  surely  undermined  by  its  intercourse  with  the 
Byzantine  empire.  The  nobles  and  the  priesthood 
were  most  affected  by  this  sinister  influence,  and  it 
is  noticeable  that  in  the  old  as  in  the  new  Bulgaria 
the  ablest  men  have  usually  sprung  from  the  virgin 
soil  of  the  peasantry."^ 

'  The  Balkans.     By  William  Miller.    New  York,  1907,  pp.  476. 


CHAPTER   III 

UNDER    THE    TURKISH    YOKE 

The  Turkish  conquest  of  Bulgaria  —  Dark  ages  of  BulRarian  history  — 
Turkish  political  opprt's.sion  and  Greek  ecclesiastical  tyranny  — 
The  corrupt  Fhanariotes  —  Extinction  of  Bulgarian  learning  — 
Why  tiic  movement  for  the  Hellenization  of  the  Bulbars  failed  — 
Griffin  of  the  Pornak  republic  —  Efforts  of  the  Bulgars  to  throw  off 
the  Turkish  yoke —  Influence  of  the  literary  and  historical  revival 
— ■  Labours  of  the  monk  Paissy  — •  The  school  at  Kotcl  —  Beginnings 
of  revolutionary  movements  —  Services  of  Venelin  —  The  school 
at  (iabrovo  —  Reestablish ment  of  the  Bulgarian  national  church 
— •  Turkish  oppression  following  the  Crimean  war  —  Work  of  rev- 
olutionary committees  in  Rumania. 

Turkish  troops  ravaged  the  Maritza  valley  in 
1340;  Thrace  was  occupied  twenty-one  years  later; 
fchtiman,  Samokov,  and  Kustendil  were  captured  in 
1370;  and  Sofia  fell  in  1382.  The  battle  of  Kossovo 
in  1389  decided  the  fate  of  the  "Bulgars,  although 
Tirnovo,  the  capital  of  the  country,  did  not  capitu- 
late until  the  17th  of  July,  1393.  The  fate  of  Ivan 
Shishman  111,  the  last  of  the  Bulgarian  tsars,  is 
not  known.  Tradition  represents  him  as  perishing 
in  the  battle  of  Samokov.  The  occupation  of  Bul- 
garia by  the  Turks  was  completed  by  the  expulsion 
of  Ivan's  half  brother  from  Vidin  in  1398. 

The  five  centuries  that  separate  the  fall  of  Tir- 
novo and  the  fall  of  Plevna  have  been  aptly  char- 
acterized as  the  dark  ages  of  Bulgarian  history. 
For  five  hundred  years  the  Bulgars  bore  the  double 
yoke  of  Turkish  political  oppression  and  Greek  ec- 
clesiastical  tyranny.     The  Turks  carried  fire  and 

26 


Under  the  Turkish  Yoke  27 

sword  througliout  the  kingcJoin.  They  laid  waste 
towns  and  villages.  Churches  and  monasteries  were 
sacked  and  burned.  Fertile  plains  were  converted 
into  desolate  wastes.  Peasants  fled  to  the  moun- 
tains or  crossed  the  Danube  and  found  refuge  in 
Russia.  Some  of  tlie  nobles  embraced  the  Moslem 
religion  and  were  rewarded  with  place  and  power 
for  their  apostas3^  Highways  were  neglected. 
Khans  and  caravanseries  fell  into  ruin.  The  flower 
of  Bulgarian  youth  was  carried  to  Constantinople 
to  be  trained  for  the  janissaries.  The  fairest  of 
the  maidens  of  the  land  were  seized  to  grace  the 
harems  of  their  Turkish  nuasters.  Every  Christian 
above  the  age  of  fourteen  years  had  to  pay  a  poll 
tax;  there  was  a  tax  on  every  head  of  cattle,  and  a 
tenth  of  all  the  products  of  the  soil  was  claimed 
by  the  Ottoman  government.  Regular  payment  of 
taxes  was  greatly  augmented  by  the  irregular  ex- 
tortions of  Turkish  governors,  who  were  allowed  to 
recoup  themselves  for  Ihe  bribes  they  had  paid  for 
their  jobs.  And  worst  of  all,  the  peasants  were 
fixed  to  the  soil  and  required  to  work  a  certain  nnm- 
ber  of  days  each  week  on  the  estates  of  their  feudal 
lords. 

But  the  political  and  economic  bondage  of  the 
Turks  was  scarcely  less  irksome  than  the  religious 
and  intellectual  ])oudage  of  the  Greeks.  The  entire 
spiritual  government  of  the  Bnlgars  was  turned 
over  to  the  Greek  Phanariotes  of  Constantinople, 
for  handsome  financial  considerations,  of  course! 
Less  than  a  year  after  the  fall  of  Tii-?u)vo  tlie  ven- 
erable Patriarch   Eumenius   was   expelled   and  the 


28     Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Bulgarian  see  was  subordinated  to  the  patriarch  of 
Constantinople.  Greek  bishops  displaced  Bulgarian 
bishops.  Bibles  in  the  Slavic  tongue  were  replaced 
by  the  Scriptures  in  Greek.  All  offices  within  the 
church  were  for  sale,  and  we  hear  of  Greek  barbers 
and  restaurant  keepers  holding  posts  as  bishops; 
and  the  ecclesiastical  rulers  from  Constantinople, 
like  the  political,  having  paid  dearly  for  their  offices, 
had  to  recoup  themselves  at  the  expense  of  their 
parishioners.  "  The  art  of  extortion  among  Greek 
bishops  and  priests,"  wrote  a  contemporary  Ger- 
man traveller  in  Bulgaria,  "  has  been  reduced  to 
a  system,  so  that  between  Greek  ecclesiastics  and 
Turkish  governors  the  lot  of  the  Bulgarian  peasant 
is  a  hard  one."  The  Greek  liturgy  replaced  the 
Slavic  throughout  the  country,  and  all  Bulgarian 
books  and  manuscripts  were  committed  to  the  flames. 
So  late  as  the  year  1823  the  metropolitan  Greek 
Phanariot  Hilarion,  in  repairing  the  cathedral  at 
Tirnovo,  discovered  a  closed  chamber  that  contained 
numerous  relics  and  the  ancient  libraries  of  the 
Bulgarian  patriarchs,  including  the  library  of  Eu- 
menius.  The  relics  he  sold  in  Rumania,  and  the 
Bulgarian  books  and  manuscripts  he  solemnly  com- 
mitted to  the  flames.*  Schools,  such  as  existed  in 
the  country,  were  conducted  by  Greek  priests;  the 
Greek  alphabet  and  Greek  books  were  used,  and  the 
Kyrillic  alphabet  of  the  Bulgarians  was  entirely 
forgotten.  "  The  Greek  clergy  ended  what  the 
Turks  began,"  remarks  Wniiam  Miller,  and  he  adds, 

'  Histoire  dc  la  BiUgarie.    By  R.  P.  Gu^rin  Songeon.     Paris,  1913, 
pp.  480. 


Under  the  Turkish  Yoke  29 

"  but  the  spiritual  tyranny  of  the  Phanariotes  was 
even  worse  than  the  political  tyranny  of  the  Turks. 
For  the  Turks  were  not  bigots,  the  Phanariotes 
were." 

The  Hellenization  of  Bulgaria  was  never  quite 
complete.  Although  tlie  Slavic  language  was  no 
longer  taught,  it  continued  to  be  spoken  by  the 
peasants.  Mr.  Brailsford  in  his  authoritative  work 
on  the  Races  of  Macedonia  attributes  this  persist- 
ence of  the  Bulgarian  language  to  the  failure  of 
the  Greeks  to  make  any  sort  of  provision  for  the 
education  of  Bulgarian  women.  He  writes  concern- 
ing the  growth  of  Greek  influence  after  the  advent 
of  the  Turks  in  Bulgaria:  "It  depended  almost 
entirely  upon  the  church,  and  it  nuist  have  been 
immeasurably  stronger  in  the  Balkan  peninsula 
after  the  coming  of  the  Turks  than  ever  before.  It 
embraced  not  merely  Macedonia,  but  Rumania, 
Bulgaria,  and  even  Scrvia  as  well.  The  few  Slavs 
in  the  interior  who  w^erc  educated  at  all  were  taught 
to  regard  themselves  as  Greeks,  and  the  very  tra- 
dition of  their  origin  was  in  danger  of  dying  out. 
Two  fatal  errors  alone  wrecked  what  was  nothing 
less  than  a  scheme  for  Heilenizing  the  Balkan  penin- 
sula. The  women  were  not  educated;  and  for  all 
the  Greek  schools  might  do,  every  Slav  child  learned 
his  own  despised  tongue  at  his  mother's  knee.  The 
peasants  also  were  neglected.  The  Greeks  regarded 
them  with  the  unmeasured  and  stupid  contempt 
which  a  quick  town-bred  people  instinctively  feels 
for  a  race  of  cultivators.  They  were  barbarians, 
beasts  of  burden,  men  only  *  in  the  catalogue'    The 


30  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Greeks  denied  the  rights  of  men  to  tlie  Slav  peas- 
ants and  refused  to  accept  them  as  brethren.  The 
consequence  was  that  the  i^easants  never  quite  lost 
their  sense  of  separation,  and  a  certain  dim  con- 
sciousness of  nation  a  hty  remained,  rooted  in  inju- 
ries and  hatred.  The  nemesis  came  at  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century."^ 

Many  of  tlie  Bulgars  who  inhabited  the  wildest 
parts  of  the  Rhodope  mountains  became  converts 
to  the  Moslem  religion  during  the  reign  of  Moham- 
med IV  (1648-1G87).  They  retained  the  habits,  cus- 
toms, and  language  of  the  Bulgars,  but  were  hence- 
forth known  as  Pomaks.  The  adoption  of  the  creed 
of  Islam  made  them  a  privileged  class  in  the  con- 
quered country.  They  received  special  concessions 
from  the  sultans  and  acquired  a  large  measure  of 
self-government.  They  were  ruled  by  beys  elected 
from  their  own  ranks;  had  their  own  police  and 
law  courts;  paid  no  taxes,  and  furnished  no  regular 
recruits  to  the  Ottoman  army. 

In  return  for  these  favours  they  furnished  the 
government  of  the  sultans  with  special  contingents 
of  soldiers  during  times  of  war.  Thus  there  devel- 
oped what  was  known  as  the  Pomak  republic.  Sev- 
eral sultans  during  the  eighteenth  century  attempted 
to  curtail  the  privileges  of  the  Pomaks  and  force 
them  to  pay  taxes,  but  with  little  success.  "  It  was 
an  evil  day  for  any  Turkish  tax-collector,"  remarks 
Mr.  Bourchier,  "  who  ventured  within  the  Pomak 
territor>^  for  the  highlanders  were  armed  to  the 

^  Races  of  Macedonia.  By  H.  N.  Brailsford.  London,  1906,  pp. 
340. 


Under  the  Turkish  Yoke  31 

teeth,  and  tauglit  the  intruders  a  lesson  wliich  tbey 
were  not  likely  to  forget.  It  was  thought  prudent 
to  overlook  these  acts  of  vigorous  self-assertion,  and 
so  it  came  to  pass  that  the  little  community  of  the 
Rhodope  enjoyed  the  sweets  of  self-government  un- 
molested and  unhindered ;  and  though  not  recog- 
nized by  diplomatists,  they  possessed  all  the  priv- 
ileges of  independent  membership  in  the  European 
family."' 

It  was  not  until  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury that  tlie  Pomaks  attracted  the  attention  of 
western  Europe.  They  were  ruled  at  that  time  by 
Hassan  Aga,  who  was  the  recognized  chief  of  tliirty 
villages  and  twenty  thousand  people.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded in  18G0  by  his  son  Aclunet  Aga,  the  leader 
of  the  terrible  massacre  of  Christian  villages  in 
Bulgaria  that  precipitated  the  Russo-Turkisli  war 
of  1877-78.  Some  ethnologists  regard  the  Pomaks 
as  the  purest  Bulgar  stock,  for  the  reason  that  their 
adoption  of  the  Moslem  religion  prcser\^ed  their 
women  against  the  license  of  the  Turkish  con- 
querors. 

The  acceptance  of  the  Mohammedan  religion  did 
not  prevent  the?n  from  clinging  to  many  of  tlie 
religious  customs  of  their  Christian  forefathers. 
Mr.  Bourchier  wrote  of  liis  visit  to  the  Pomaks  in 
1893:  *'  They  still  celebrate  some  Christian  holi- 
days; they  still  attend  the  consecration  of  a  Chris- 
tian sanctuary;  they  will  even  invite  the  prayers 
of  a  Christian  priest  in  cases  of  illness.    Tlie  women 

'  Pomaks  of  Rhndnpc.  Hv  J.  D.  Bourchier.  Forlnighlly  Renew, 
Oct.,  1893.     Vol.  m,  pp.  50'.>-532. 


32  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

lament  over  tlie  graves  of  their  departed  relatives, 
using  the  old  Christian  prayers  muintis  mutandis 
to  suit  their  present  creed.  At  the  feast  of  Bairam 
the  maidens  dance  the  Bulgarian  horo  —  unveiled 
this  once;  for  it  is  then  that  the  Pomak  youths 
select  their  brides;  the  young  men  may  not  dance, 
but  stand  at  a  becoming  distance  and  take  stock  of 
their  future  partners  for  life." 

With  the  aid  of  Michael  of  Wallachia,  Aaron  of 
Transylvania,  and  Sigismund  of  Hungary,  the  Bul- 
gars  made  an  attempt  to  throw  off  the  Turkish  yoke, 
but  the  revolution  of  Tirnovo  of  1595  ended  in  de- 
feat at  Nicopolis.  Beginning  with  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  the  period  of  marked  decline  of  Otto- 
man power,  the  spirit  of  revolt  became  more  appar- 
ent. Organized  guerilla  warfare  was  carried  on 
against  the  Turks  in  the  Balkan  and  Rhodope  moun- 
tains by  outlaws  whose  exploits  have  been  idealized 
in  the  rich  literature  of  Bulgarian  folk-song.  These 
brigand  chiefs,  like  Robin  Hood  in  the  English 
ballads,  were  regarded  as  the  protectors  of  the 
rights  of  the  people  against  the  aggressions  of  the 
Turks. 

Hellenized  as  they  had  been  by  the  unscrupulous, 
rapacious,  and  corrupt  Phanariot  clergy;  disheart- 
ened by  ages  of  Turkish  oppression;  isolated  from 
Christendom  by  their  geographic  position,  and 
cowed  by  the  proximity  of  Constantinople,  the  Bul- 
gars  took  no  collective  part  in  the  revolutionary 
movements  that  ultimately  resulted  in  the  liberation 
of  other  parts  of  the  Balkan  peninsula.  But  the 
long  dormant  national  spirit  was  at  last  awakened 


Under  the  Turkish  Yoke  33 

in  Bulgaria,  as  in  Boliemia  and  other  oppressed 
countries  in  Europe,  by  the  influence  of  a  literary 
and  historical  revival. 

This  movement  was  inaugrirated  by  a  monk  in  the 
monastery  at  Mount  Athos,  who,  in  1762,  published 
a  history  of  the  old  Bulgarian  kingdom.  Father 
Paissy's  book  marks  the  beginning  of  a  literary 
revival  in  Bulgaria  that  culminated  a  century  later 
in  the  liberation  of  his  country  from  the  spiritual 
oppression  of  the  Greeks  and  the  political  tyranny 
of  the  Turks.  He  was  born  at  Samokov  in  1720 
and  educated  in  the  monasteries  at  Hilandar  and 
Mount  Athos.  In  the  preface  of  liis  book  he  tells 
us  that  he  had  frequently  been  insulted  by  the  asser- 
tions of  Greeks  and  Servians  that  the  Bulgars  had 
no  national  history  and  that  his  country  had  never 
produced  any  political  or  spiritual  leaders  of  con- 
sequence. He  travelled  widely  in  Bulgaria,  Aus- 
tria, and  Russia,  and  searched  carefully  all  historical 
documents  that  he  could  find;  and  his  TTistory  of  the 
Bulgarian  People  with  Accounts  of  their  Tsars  and 
Saints,  written  in  simple  but  graphic  stjde,  was  the 
spark  that  roused  the  dormant  patriotism  of  the 
Bulgars. 

The  Bulgar  whom  Paissy's  book  most  deeply  in- 
fluenced was  Stoiko  Vladislavoff  (1739-1815),  better 
known  as  Bishop  Sophroni.  VladislavolT  was  twenty 
years  in  charge  of  a  school  for  peasant  boys  at 
Kotel,  where  George  Mamarlchoff  and  most  of  the 
other  leaders  in  the  revolutionary  movement  were 
trained.  He  later  became  bishop  of  Vratza,  but  his 
advocacy  of  the  cause  of  the  Bulgars  aroused  the 


34  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

hatred  of  both  the  Turkish  officials  and  the  Greek 
Phanariotes,  and  he  was  condemned  to  death.  He 
fled  to  the  mountains  and  subsequently  escaped  to 
Bucharest,  where  he  devoted  the  closing  years  of 
his  life  to  literary  labours.  His  writings  were 
among  the  first  to  be  printed  in  the  new  Bulgarian 
language.  He  directed  his  patriotic  efforts,-  as  he 
tells  us  in  liis  Memoirs  (1804),  chiefly  to  the  peas- 
ants, since  by  virtue  of  their  very  ignorance  they 
had  been  less  influenced  by  Greek  ideas  and  culture, 
and  it  was  easier  to  interest  them  in  the  glorious 
past  of  their  country  than  the  Bulgars  who  had  been 
tainted  with  cosmopolitan  ideas. 

Another  important  writer  in  the  movement  that 
ultimately  liberated  the  Bulgars  was  the  Kuthenian 
historian  Juri  I.  Venelin  (1802-1839).  His  Bulgars 
of  Former  Times  and  To-day  (1829)  was  a  work  of 
recognized  historical  scholarship  and  recalled  not 
only  to  the  Bulgars  but  to  the  historical  students 
of  Europe  the  splendid  place  which  this  race  once 
occupied  in  the  history  of  the  Balkan  peninsula. 
He  also  published  numerous  documents  bearing  on 
Bulgarian  history;  made  a  collection  of  folk-songs 
and  legends,  and  published  a  Bulgarian  grammar. 
In  gratitude  for  his  service  to  their  nation  the 
Bulgars  have  erected  a  tomb  to  Venelin  at  Odessa 
with  this  inscription:  *'  He  recalled  to  memory 
the  forgotten  but  once  mighty  Bulgarian  na- 
tion. ' ' 

The  work  of  Venelin  inspired  two  Bulgarian  mer- 
chants at  Odessa  to  found  a  Bulgarian  school  at 
Gabrovo  in  1835.    Neophyte  Rilski,  a  famous  Slavic 


Painted  by  Ivan  V.  Mirkvicka. 

thp:  monk  paissy. 

Hepn)duccd  with  the  artist's  permission. 


Under  the  Turkish  Yoke  35 

scholar  in  the  monastery  at  Kilo,  was  chosen  director 
of  the  school.  This  school  and  similar  ones  estab- 
lished at  Karlovo,  Svishtov,  Koprivshtitza,  and  else- 
where, brought  the  national  spirit  squarely  face  to 
face  with  the  spiritual  domination  of  the  Greek  Pha- 
nariotes,  and  inaugurated  the  long  and  bitter  strug- 
gle that  ultimately  resulted  in  the  reestablishment 
of  the  national  Orthodox  church  in  Bulgaria.  The 
literary  movement  was  pushed  with  great  vigour. 
School  books,  novels,  plays,  and  popular  songs  in 
the  vernacular  were  printed  ;  a  translation  of  the 
New  Testament  was  made,  and  in  1S44  there  ap- 
peared at  Smyrna  the  first  newspaper  published  in 
the  Bulgarian  language. 

The  patriots  that  were  trained  under  the  influence 
of  the  new  literary  movement  belicvefl  that  the 
safest  and  quickest  way  to  political  freedom  was 
through  the  restoration  of  the  national  church,  and 
a  bitter  struggle  followed.  The  0  reeks,  more  far- 
sighlcd  tlian  tlie  Turks,  argued  witli  the  Ottoman 
authorities  that  the  reestablishment  of  an  independ- 
ent Bulgarian  church  would  uiKpiestionably  lead  to 
the  awakening  of  the  Bulgarian  national  spirit,  and 
that  Turkey  would  thus  raise  up  for  herself  an 
enemy  in  her  own  Iiouse.  But  as  the  settled  policy 
of  the  Sublime  Porte  was  to  create  divisions  among 
the  Christian  subjects,  the  struggle  led  to  the  rees- 
tablishment of  an  independent  Bulgarian  church  in 
1870. 

The  Bulgars  sought  more  than  deliverance  from 
their  spiritual  oppressors.  They  desired  political 
not  less  than  religious  autonomy.    As  early  as  1836 


36  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

a  revolutionary  movement  was  inaugurated  at  Tir- 
novo  under  the  leadership  of  George  Mamartchoff, 
who  was  a  pupil  in  the  famous  peasant  school  at 
Kotel  that  gave  so  many  patriots  to  Bulgaria.  The 
Greek  metropolitan  at  Tirnovo  learned  of  the  or- 
ganization, informed  the  Turkish  authorities,  most 
of  the  leaders  were  executed,  many  sympathetic 
peasants  were  massacred,  and  many  Bulgars  fled 
to  Bessarabia. 

After  the  Crimean  war  many  thousands  of  Mos- 
lem Tatars  and  Circassians  from  the  Crimea  were 
settled  on  lands  belonging  to  Bulgarian  peasants, 
who  were  not  duly  compensated  for  the  expropria- 
tion of  their  property.  The  new  settlers  were  law- 
less and  were  the  cause  of  renewed  discontent  among 
the  Bulgarian  peasants  with  the  Turkish  govern- 
ment. The  discontent  of  the  people  found  expres- 
sion in  the  revolutionary  committees  organized  in 
Rumania  during  the  dozen  years  that  preceded  the 
Eusso-Turkish  war.  The  refusal  of  the  sultan  of 
Turkey  to  recognize  Prince  Charles  as  the  rightful 
ruler  of  the  principalities  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia 
facilitated  the  activities  of  revolutionary  bands  of 
Bulgarian  emigrants  that  crossed  the  Danube  and 
tried  to  induce  the  Bulgarian  peasants  to  revolt 
against  the  Turkish  government.  Such  agitation, 
with  the  avowed  object  of  complete  emancipation 
and  independence  from  Turkish  rule,  gradually  ex- 
tended throughout  Bulgaria.  Many  of  the  agitators 
were  arrested  and  executed  or  sent  to  prisons  in 
Asia  Minor,  but  their  places  were  promptly  filled. 
The  severities  practised  by  the  Turks  in  the  sup- 


CKRISTO    BOTEFF,    LEADER    OF    THE    REVOLT    AGAINST    TVUKEY. 


Under  the  Turkish  Yoke  37 

pression  of  revolutionary  movements  did  not  in 
the  least  lessen  the  enthusiasm  and  spirit  of 
emulation  of  the  members  of  the  revolutionary 
bands. 


CHAPTER    IV 

LIBERATION    OF    BULGARIA 

Beginning  of  the  end  of  the  Turkish  rule  —  Massacres  of  the  baahi- 
bozouks  —  ReaponsibiHty  of  England  for  conditions  in  Turkey  — 
The  Crimean  war  —  Russia  and  the  oppressed  Bulgars  —  The  mas- 
sacre at  Batak  —  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Bulgarian  "horrors"  — 
Outbreak  of  the  Russo-Turkish  war  of  1877-78  —  Russian  suc- 
cesses —  How  the  Bulgara  cooperated  with  their  liberators  —  The 
treaty  of  San  Stefano  —  Anger  of  England  —  The  congress  of  Berlin 
—  The  cunnmg  of  Abdul-Haniid  —  Macedonia,  Albania,  and  Thrace 
given  back  to  Turkey  —  Creation  of  the  principalities  of  Bulgaria 
and  Eastern  Rumelia. 

The  year  of  1876  marks  the  beginning  of  the  end 
of  Turkish  rule  in  Bulgaria.  The  activities  of  the 
patriots  in  agitating  for  governmental  reforms  in 
their  country  led  the  Turks  to  retaliate  with  the 
most  oppressive  measures.  Whole  villages  were 
slaughtered;  and  the  Ottoman  government  justified 
the  action  of  its  savage  soldiers  and  the  brutal  bashi- 
bozouks  on  the  pretext  that  they  were  simply  put- 
ting down  rebellion  and  restoring  peace  by  armed 
force.  The  cruelties  in  the  Balkan  peninsula  be- 
came so  glaring  that  Russia  asked  England  and  the 
other  members  of  the  European  concert  to  force 
Turkey  to  grant  some  of  the  reforms  demanded  by 
the  revolutionists,  and  to  compel  her  to  cease  the 
brutal  massacre  of  innocent  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren. 

The  responsibility  of  England  for  conditions  in 
the  Balkans  cannot  be  passed  over  in  silence.  As 
early  as  1791  England  grew  conscious  of  the  fact 

38 


Liberation  of  Bulgaria  39 

that  Turkey  was  in  the  clutches  of  Russia.  She 
formed  a  tripartite  alliance  with  Holland  and  Prus- 
sia and  tried  to  make  Catherine  disgorge  some  of 
her  Turkish  conquests,  which  the  proud  and  self- 
sufficing  empress  refused  to  do.  The  House  of  Com- 
mons was  asked  to  furnish  the  sinews  of  war  to 
bring  Catherine  to  terms,  but  tlic  opposition  of 
Burke  and  Fox  defeated  the  measure.  The  over- 
weening power  wliich  Russia  acquired  by  her  share 
in  the  overthrow  of  Napoleon  caused  a  popular  feel- 
ing of  dislike  for  her  in  Great  Britain.  ''  For  then 
came  the  new  spirit  breathed  into  our  foreign  policy 
by  George  Canning,"  remarks  the  Duke  of  Argyll, 
''  and  especially  our  national  and  popular  antipathy 
to  the  Holy  Alliance.  Russia  was  the  head  and  front 
of  that  offending.  That  she  should  be  allowed  to 
seat  herself  on  the  throne  of  Constantinople  —  to 
make  the  whole  Black  sea  a  Russian  lake,  to  com- 
mand the  Bosjiorus  and  the  Dardanelles,  and  to 
issue  from  them  into  the  Mediterranean  with  fleets 
powerful  in  action  and  inaccessible  in  retreat  —  this 
would  indeed  be  a  menace  and  a  danger  to  the  west- 
ern world.  To  avert  this  danger,  or  at  least  to  post- 
pone it,  the  easiest  plan  was  to  keep  up  the  Turkish 
empire  as  long  as  possible."^ 

But  it  is  not  entirely  fair,  as  some  writers  have 
done,  to  interpret  the  alliance  of  England  with 
Turkey  during  the  Crimean  war  as  British  approval 
of  the  oppression  of  Christian  races  in  the  Balkans. 
William  E.  Gladstone,  the  honest  and  sturdy  cham- 

'  Our  Rcsponsibilihj  for  Turkey.  By  the  Duke  of  Argyll  (George 
Douglas  Campbell).    London,  1896,  pp.  196. 


40  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

pion  of  national  rights  and  personal  liberty,  was 
one  of  the  English  statesmen  directly  responsible 
for  this  alliance.  The  Duke  of  Argj^ll,  who,  with 
Gladstone,  was  a  member  of  the  Palmerston  cabinet, 
wrote  years  afterwards  in  defence  of  the  policy: 
"  On  my  own  behalf,  and  on  behalf  of  colleagues  who 
cannot  now  vindicate  their  own  reputation  —  on  be- 
half, too,  of  a  whole  generation  of  British  people 
in  whose  name  we  acted  —  I  emphatically  deny  that 
such  was  our  conduct  or  our  position  in  the  war  of 
1854-55,  or  in  the  treaty  of  1856.  For  myself,  in- 
deed, I  never  did  believe  in  the  regeneration  of 
Turkey ;  I  doubt  if  any  of  my  colleagues  did  —  even 
Lord  Palmerston.  But  we  did  hope  that  lier  gov- 
ernment might  at  least  be  rendered  tolerable  for  a 
time,  if  it  could  be  made  to  feel  its  dependence  on 
a  united  Europe  instead  of  on  Russia  alone,  and  if 
some  time  were  given  it  to  initiate  and  carry  into 
effect  certain  reforms  which  might  be  of  a  very 
simple  character,  but  which,  nevertheless,  might  be 
far  reaching.  I  see  now  that  it  was  a  gross  delusion 
to  believe  even  this.  But,  at  all  events,  this  is  the 
idea  on  which  we  did  actually  proceed,  and  which 
did  underlie  the  whole  policy  both  of  the  war  and 
the  treaty.  We  never  did,  even  for  a  moment,  enter- 
tain the  iniquitous  policy  of  strengthening  a  gov- 
ernment irredeemably  vicious,  corrupt,  and  cruel, 
without  caring  at  all  for  the  sufferings  it  would 
inflict  on  millions  of  subject  populations." 

Fearing  that  Russia  might  carry  out  her  threat 
to  declare  war  against  Turkey,  a  congress  of  the 
powers  was  called  at  Constantinople,  which  drew 


Liberation  of  Bulgaria  41 

up  certain  reform  measures  that  tlie  sultau  was 
asked  to  put  into  operation  in  the  rebellious  prov- 
inces ;  but  Abdul-Hamid,  sensible  of  the  strong  feel- 
ing in  England  against  Russia,  assumed  that  the 
government  of  the  tsar  would  be  held  in  check  by 
the  English,  promptly  consigned  the  recommenda- 
tions of  the  powers  to  the  waste-basket.  Bashi- 
bozouks,  irregular  Turkish  soldiers,  were  let  loose 
upon  the  helpless  Christian  population,  and  within 
two  months  from  the  time  the  congress  had  made 
its  recommendations,  fifty-eight  villages  in  Bulgaria 
had  been  destroyed,  five  monasteries  had  been  de- 
molished, and  fifteen  thousand  people  had  been  mas- 
sacred. 

Januarius  A.  MacGahan  (1844-1878),  an  Ameri- 
can Irishman,  who  was  correspondent  of  the  London 
Daily  News,  visited  Batak,  one  of  the  villages  whose 
inhabitants  had  been  massacred,  and  sent  his  news- 
paper a  graphic  account  of  what  he  saw.  He  re- 
ported that  the  bashi-bozouks,  under  the  command 
of  Achmet  Aga,  a  regular  Turkisli  army  officer,  came 
to  the  village,  and  after  a  desultory  struggle,  the 
conmiander  assured  the  inhabitants  upon  his  word 
of  honour  that  not  a  hair  of  their  heads  would  be 
touclied  if  they  would  lay  down  their  arms.  They 
complied  with  his  terms,  "  only  to  be  butchered  like 
sheep."  Some  took  refuge  in  the  church.  The  roof 
was  torn  off  by  the  Turkish  soldiers,  who  flung  burn- 
ing pieces  of  wood  and  rags  dipped  in  petroleum 
down  upon  the  poor  wretches  within.  Torture  was 
applied  to  those  who  escaped  death  in  order  that 
they  might   reveal   to   the   Turkish    soldiers   where 


42  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

their  treasures  were  hidden.  Out  of  a  population 
of  seven  thousand,  only  two  thousand  survived;  and 
Achmet  Aga,  the  Pomak  leader  who  directed  these 
terrible  orgies,  was  decorated  by  the  sultan  for 
bravery! 

MacGahan's  description  of  the  blood-bath  at 
Batak  came  to  the  notice  of  William  E.  Gladstone. 
He  demanded  an  immediate  official  inquiry  on  the 
part  of  England.  An  investigation  conducted  on 
the  spot  confirmed  the  terrible  story  that  MacGahan 
had  published  in  the  London  Daily  Ncivs.  The  com- 
missioners reported  that  when  they  visited  Batak, 
nearly  two  mouths  after  tlie  massacre,  they  found 
the  stench  of  the  still  unburied  corpses  overpower- 
ing. "  Skulls  \Wth  grey  hair  still  attached  to  them, 
dark  tresses  which  had  once  adorned  the  heads  of 
maidens,  the  mutilated  trunks  of  men,  the  rotting 
limbs  of  children  "  —  such  were  the  scenes  that  met 
the  eyes  of  the  British  commissioners. 

Mr.  Gladstone  wrote  in  his  famous  pamphlet  on 
Bnlgarian  Horrors:  "  There  has  been  perpetrated, 
under  the  immediate  authority  of  a  government  to 
which  all  the  time  we  have  been  giving  the  strongest 
moral,  and  for  part  of  the  time  even  material  sup- 
port, crimes  and  outrages  so  vast  in  scale  as  to 
exceed  all  modern  examples,  and  so  utterly  vile -as 
well  as  fierce  in  character,  that  it  passes  the  power 
of  heart  to  conceive,  and  of  tongue  and  pen  ade- 
quately to  describe  them.  These  are  the  Bulgarian 
horrors.  As  an  old  servant  of  the  crown  and  the 
state,  T  entreat  my  countrymen,  upon  whom  far 
more  than  upon  any  other  people  in  Europe  it  de- 


Liberation  of  Bulgaria  43 

pends,  to  require  and  to  insist  that  onr  government, 
wliicli  has  ])een  working  in  one  direction,  shall  work 
in  the  other,  and  sliall  apply  all  its  vigour  to  concur 
with  the  states  of  Europe  in  obtaining  tlie  extinction 
of  the  Turkish  executive  power  in  Bulgaria.  Let 
the  Turks  now  carrj-  away  their  abuses  in  the  only 
possible  manner,  namely,  by  carrying  off  themselves. 
This  thorough  riddance,  this  most  blessed  deliver- 
ance, is  the  only  reparation  we  can  make  to  the 
memory  of  those  heaps  on  heaps  of  dead;  to  the 
violated  purity  alike  of  inatron,  of  maiden,  of  child; 
to  the  civilization  that  has  been  affronted  and 
shamed ;  to  the  laws  of  God  or,  if  you  like,  of  Allah ; 
to  the  moral  sense  of  mankind  at  large."  ^ 

The  celebrated  para])hlet  of  Mr.  Gladstone  pro* 
vided  Russia  with  an  excellent  cause  for  aggression 
against  Turkey,  and  on  the  24th  of  April,  1877,  she 
declared  war.  Abdul-Ilamid  relied  confidently  upon 
the  assistance  of  Fhigland  in  case  of  war,  and  but 
for  the  effect  of  Gladstone's  pamphlet  this  assist- 
ance would  have  been  forthcoming.  The  British 
government  was  forced  to  inform  the  sultan  that 
"it  had  now  become  practically  impossible  — 
owing  to  the  state  of  public  feeling  —  for  us  to 
intervene." 

Russia  formed  an  alliance  with  Rumania,  the  lat- 
ter declaring  Jier  independence  of  Turkey,  and  the 
Danubian  provinces  were  invaded.  Mukhtar  Pasha 
retained  Kars  for  a  time  against  the  siege  of  the 
Russians;    but  defeats  soon  began  to  come  '*  thick 

'  BitUjarian  Unrron^  mid  the  Question  of  the  East.  By  William  Kwart 
Gladstoiic.     London,  1870,  pp.  M. 


44  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

and  fast  ";  Lootsk  was  stormed  by  the  Russians 
the  3rd  of  September,  1877;  Niksic  was  won  by  the 
Montenegrins  five  days  later;  Plevna  was  stormed 
the  11th  of  September;  Mukhtar  Pasha  suffered  a 
severe  defeat  at  Aladja  Duga  the  15th  of  October; 
Gurko,  the  leading  Russian  general,  stormed  Gorin 
Dubrik  the  24th  of  October,  and  four  days  later  he 
captured  Telish;  Kars  was  successfully  stormed 
the  18th  of  November;  the  army  of  Osman  Pasha 
was  nearly  annihilated  and  forced  to  surrender 
Plevna  the  10th  of  December;  and  the  same  month 
Gurko  crossed  the  Balkans  to  continue  the  war  in 
central  Bulgaria. 

The  year  1878  opened  with  the  capture  of  Sofia 
by  Gurko  on  the  4th  of  January;  an  army  com- 
posed of  Russian  and  Bulgarian  soldiers  crossed 
Shipka  pass  the  7th  of  January  and  captured  a  large 
body  of  Turkish  troops;  Nish  and  Antivari  sur- 
rendered the  10th  of  January;  seven  days  later  the 
army  of  Suleiman  was  completely  routed  near  Phil- 
ippopolis ;  and  Adrianople  fell  the  20th  of  January. 
Within  a  week  the  Russian  troops  were  marching 
towards  the  undefended  Turkish  capital.  The  sul- 
tan sued  for  peace ;  an  armistice  was  declared,  and 
the  treaty  of  San  Stefano,  signed  the  3rd  of  March,  • 
1878,  brought  the  Russo-Turkish  war  to  a  close. 
Both  sides  had  lost  heavily;  for,  in  the  taking  of 
Plevna  alone,  the  Russians  had  sacrificed  50,000  men. 

Concerning  the  cooperation  of  the  Bulgars  with 
their  liberators,  Mr.  William  Miller,  the  English 
historian  of  the  Balkans,  writes:  "  Bulgaria,  dis- 
organized by  nearly  five  centuries  of  Turkish  rule. 


Liberation  of  Bulgaria  45 

could  do  little  but  provide  a  theatre  for  the  war. 
It  was  upon  Bulgarian  soil  that  the  chief  struggle 
took  place,  and  the  siege  of  Plevna  and  the  occu- 
pation of  Shipka  pass  attracted  the  eyes  of  the 
whole  world  to  this  remote  comer  of  the  map  of 
Europe.  To  the  best  of  their  abilities  the  peasants 
helped  the  Russian  forces;  wherever  the  tsar's 
legions  went  the  natives  welcomed  them;  not  be- 
cause they  wished  to  exchange  the  Turkish  for  the 
Muscovites'  domination,  but  because  they  regarded 
them  as  instruments  for  the  liberation  of  their  coun- 
try. Their  local  knowledge  was  placed  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  invaders;  Bulgarian  guides  directed 
the  Russian  army  through  the  mazes  of  the  moun- 
tains ;  Bulgarian  boys  carried  water  to  the  Russian 
soldiers  in  battle  at  the  risk  of  their  lives;  volun- 
teer corps  were  formed  to  fight  by  the  side  of  the 
Russian  and  the  Rimianian  regulars ;  and  five  thou- 
sand Bulgarians  accompanied  General  Gurko  in  his 
operations  in  the  Balkans,  and  won  the  praise  of 
their  allies  by  their  gallant  defence  of  the  Shipka 
pass,  and  by  their  conspicuous  bravery  at  Stara 
Zagora,  where  four-fifths  of  the  Bulgarian  ex)m- 
batants  were  left  dead  upon  the  field."  ^ 

The  chief  feature  of  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano 
was  the  rehabilitation  of  the  old  Bulgarian  kingdom. 
The  big  Bulgaria  that  it  created  extended  from  the 
Danube  to  Thessaly  and  embraced  most  of  Albania, 
Macedonia,  and  Thrace.  Rumania  received  the  re- 
gion of  the  Dobrutja;   Servia  was  granted  the  dis- 

'  The  Dalkan.'^.     (Stor>'  of  the  Nations  Series.)     By  William  Miller. 
New  York,  1907,  pp.  476. 


46  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

trict  southeast  of  Nisli;  and  Montenegro  benefited 
by  portions  of  Bosnia  and  Albania.  The  big  Bul- 
garia created  by  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano  was  based 
essentially  on  ethnic  lines.  The  people  were  chiefly 
Bulgars.  Much  of  the  bloodshed  of  the  past  thirty 
years  in  the  Balkan  i)eninsula  might  have  been 
avoided  if  this  treaty  had  been  allowed  to  stand. 

England,  influenced  b}^  the  dread  which  she  enter- 
tained of  the  creation  of  a  great  Bulgaria  that  might 
become  a  powerful  ally  of  Russia,  was  angered; 
thirty  million  dollars  were  voted  for  arrnanioiils; 
troops  were  ordered  from  India,  and  Eussia  was 
informed  that  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano  must  be 
torn  up,  and  that  the  whole  matter  nuist  be  sub- 
mitted to  a  congress  of  the  great  powers.  Russia 
did  not  object  to  a  congress,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
she  had  fought  the  war  of  lilieration  of  the  Bulgars 
without  the  aid  of  any  of  the  powers,  and  that  it 
had  cost  her  millions  of  dollars  and  the  loss  of  the 
lives  of  many  thousand  of  her  soldiers. 

The  congress  of  the  powers  met  at  Berlin  the  8th 
of  June,  1878,  and  a  month  later  they  announced  the 
division  of  the  big  Bulgaria  into  five  sections,  one 
of  which  was  to  be  given  to  Seiwia,  one  to  Rumania, 
one  given  back  to  Turkey,  and  two  created  into 
autonomous  provinces  under  the  suzerainty  of  the 
sultan  of  Turkey.  Of  the  two  autonomous  provinces 
that  were  created,  one  was  to  be  known  as  Eastern 
Rumelia  and  the  other  as  Bulgaria.  ^'  It  was  Eng- 
land especially  that  insisted  upon  this  arrange- 
ment," writes  Dr.  Washburn,  ''  and  also  upon  the 
right  of  Turkey  to  occupy  and  fortify  the  range  of 


Liberation  of  Bulgaria  47 

the  Balkans,  all  with  the  object  of  making  it  impos- 
sible for  the  Bulgarians  to  form  a  viable  state,  which 
might  be  friendly  to  Russia.  The  Englishmen  who 
knew  Bulgaria  understood  the  folly  and  wickedness 
of  this  at  the  time,  and  all  England  has  learned  it 
since.  Thus  far  [19091  1^^^  results  have  been  the 
revolution  of  1885,  which  resulted  in  the  union  of 
Bulgaria  and  Eastern  Rumelia,  the  M'ar  with  Servia, 
the  insurrection  in  Macedonia  and  the  province  of 
Adriauo})le,  and  all  the  massacres  and  unspeakable 
horrors  of  the  last  twenty-nine  years  in  Macedonia, 
to  say  nothing  of  what  Bulgaria  has  suffered  from 
the  intrigues  of  foreign  powers  ever  since  the  treaty 
of  Berlin.  The  awful  massacres  and  persecutions 
from  which  the  Armenians  have  suffered  since  1886 
have  been  equally  the  result  of  this  treaty.'^  ^ 

Nine  days  before  the  meeting  of  the  congress  of 
Berlin  England  had  concluded  a  secret  treaty  with 
Turkey  in  which  she  promised  to  maintain  the  integ- 
rity of  the  Ottoman  empire  in  Asia,  and  in  consid- 
eration for  this  service  she  was  permitted  to  occupy 
the  island  of  (yVjirus  and  hold  the  same  in  fee  for 
the  sultan.  In  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano  Turkey 
had  agreed  to  the  maintenance  of  a  Russian  army 
in  Armenia  as  a  guarantee  against  the  slaughter  of 
Armenians  by  Moslem  Kurds  and  Circassians;  the 
retention  of  certain  Asiatic  provinces  which  she  had 
wrested  from  Turkey  by  liard  fighting,  and  the  free 
access  to  the  Black  sea  to  all  nations  both  in  time  of 
war  and  in  time  of  peace. 

'  Fifty  Wars  in  C()7is((i7ttinn])le.  By  George  Washburn.  RoHtnn, 
1909,  pp.  319. 


48  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

It  delighted  the  cunning  of  Abdul-Hamid  to  make 
this  deal  with  Lord  Beaconsfield  rather  than  permit 
Russia  to  protect  his  Christian  subjects  in  Armenia. 
The  Duke  of  Argyll  remarks  in  this  connection: 
"  The  Turk  could  see  at  a  glance  that,  whilst  it 
relieved  him  from  the  dangerous  pressure  of  Rus- 
sia, it  substituted  no  other  pressure  which  his  own 
infinite  dexterity  in  delays  could  not  make  abortive. 
As  for  the  unfortunate  Armenians,  the  change  was 
simply  one  which  must  tend  to  expose  them  to  the 
increased  enmity  of  their  tyrants,  whilst  it  damaged 
and  discouraged  the  only  protection  which  was  pos- 
sible under  the  inexorable  conditions  of  the  physical 
geography  of  the  country."^  The  awful  butchery 
of  thousands  —  probably  more  than  a  hundred  thou- 
sand—  of  innocent  men,  women,  and  children  in 
Armenia,  and  the  burning  of  more  than  forty  Ar- 
menian towns  and  villages  are  some  of  the  direct 
consequences  of  the  substitution  of  the  treaty  of 
Berlin  for  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano. 

The  treaty  of  Berlin  provided  for  the  small  prin- 
cipality, that  it  had  created,  a  Christian  government 
subject  to  the  sultan  of  Turkey.  The  prince  was 
to  be  freely  chosen  by  the  Bulgarian  people,  with  the 
approval  of  the  sultan  and  the  great  powers.  The 
treaty  provided  that  differences  of  religious  views 
should  form  no  hindrance  to  the  exercise  of  civil 
and  political  rights  and  the  holding  of  public  office. 
Commercial  treaties  that  had  been  made  by  Turkey 
were  binding  on  Bulgaria,   and  she  was  not  per- 

1  Out  RespoTixibililies  for  Turkey.  By  the  Duke  of  Argyll  (George 
Douglas  Campbell).     London,  1896,  pp.  19G. 


Liberation  of  Bulgaria  49 

mitted  to  make  any  changes  in  the  same  without  the 
consent  of  the  power  concerned.  No  transit  duties 
could  be  charged  on  merchandise  passing  through 
Bulgaria;  Bulgarians  travelling  in  Turkey  were 
subject  to  the  Turkish  authorities;  Bulgaria  was 
required  to  pay  tribute  to  Turkey,  and  to  take  part 
in  her  debts. 

Such  were  the  conditions  linked  with  the  half- 
hearted freedom  that  the  great  powers  granted  to 
the  Bulgars  after  five  centuries  under  the  oppressive 
Ottoman  yoke.  A  constitutional  assembly  met  at 
Timovo  on  the  10th  of  February,  1879,  and  adopted 
a  constitution  for  the  kingdom,  which,  with  slight 
modifications,  is  still  in  force.  On  the  29th  of  April, 
1879,  the  Bulgars  unanimously  elected  Alexander  of 
Battenberg  prince  of  their  country. 


CHAPTER   V 

THE    NEW   BULGABTAN    KINGDOM 

Administrative  affairs  of  Bulgaria  in  the  hands  of  RuRsians  —  The 
new  constitution  adopted  at  Tirnovo  —  Election  of  Prince  Alex- 
ander of  Battenberg  as  ruler  of  Bulgaria  —  The  Russophii  paity  — 
The  coup  d'etat  —  Arrogance  of  the  Russian  oflieiaLs  —  Restoration 
of  the  suspended  constitution  —  Departure  of  the  Russian  oflicials 
—  Union  of  Eastern  Rumelia  with  Bulgaria  — ■  Appearance  of  Stefan 
Stamboloff  —  The  war  with  Servia  —  Russian  intrigues  —  Kid- 
napping of  Prince  Alexander  —  His  return  to  Bulgaria  —  Abdica- 
tion of  the  prince  —  A\'hat  Prince  Alexander  had  done  for  Bulgaria. 

The  congress  of  Berlin  had  made  provision  for 
the  occupation  of  Bulgaria  by  an  army  of  fifty  thou- 
sand Russian  soldiers  and  the  administration  of  the 
country  by  an  im])erial  Russian  commission  until 
such  time  as  a  prince  miglit  be  secured  and  a  con- 
stitution adopted  and  ]nil  into  force.  Prince  Don- 
dukoff-Korsakoff  was  tlie  Russian  officer  selected  by 
the  tsar  to  head  the  commission,  and  the  administra- 
tive affairs  of  the  country,  both  civil  and  military, 
were  placed  in  the  hands  of  Russians. 

A  constitutional  assembly  met  at  Tirnovo  the  10th 
of  February,  1879,  to  pass  upon  the  new  constitu- 
tion that  had  been  drawn  np  by  Professor  Gradov- 
sky  and  General  Domontovitz,  under  the  direction 
of  tlie  provisional  Russian  government.  The  assem- 
bly was  composed  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-one 
members,  of  whom  one  hundred  and  five  were  a]")- 
pointed  from  the  Russian  officials  holding  posts  in 

50 


PRINCE    ALKXANDER. 


The  New  Bulgarian  Kingdom  51 

Bulgaria;  eighty-nine,  chiefly  peasants,  were  elected 
by  popular  suffrage,  at  the  rate  of  one  member  for 
every  ten  thousand  male  inhabitants;  and  twenty- 
one  members  represented  the  religious  organiza- 
tions of  the  country,  Orthodox,  Moslem,  and  Je\vish. 
The  constitution  which  was  passed  on  the  16th  of 
April,  1879,  provided  for  a  national  assembly  (so- 
branje)  to  consist  of  a  single  chamber,  elected  by 
manhood  suffrage,  to  which  any  citizen  who  had 
reached  the  age  of  thirty  and  could  read  and  write 
was  eligible.  The  constitution  provided  that  the 
members  of  the  cabinet  should  be  nominated  by  the 
ruler  of  the  country  and  responsible  to  him  only, 
regardless  of  opposing  majorities  in  the  sobranje. 
The  civil  list  of  the  ruler  was  fixed  at  one  hundred 
twenty  thousand  dollars  a  year  and  the  princely  dig- 
nity was  made  hereditary  in  the  male  line.  Pro- 
vision was  made  for  liberty  of  the  press,  universal 
conscription,  and  compulsory  education. 

On  the  29th  of  April,  1879,  Prince  Alexander  of 
Battenberg,  a  cousin  of  Tsar  Alexander  of  Russia, 
was  elected  the  first  ruler  of  the  new  kingdom  of 
Bulgaria.  He  was  twenty-two  years  old  at  the  time 
of  his  election  and  occupied  a  subordinate  post  in 
the  German  army.  He  accepted,  after  some  hesita- 
tion, the  office,  and  took  flie  oath  to  the  constitution 
at  Tirnovo  the  9(h  of  July,  amid  great  entliusiasm 
and  with  the  confidence  of  the  European  powers, 
and  notably  of  Russia,  whose  nominee  he  iiad  been. 

Concerning  the  qualifications  of  the  young  ruler 
for  the  difficult  post  that  he  had  been  selected  to  fill 
William  Miller  writes:  '*  The  first  prince  of  Bui- 


52  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

garia  is  one  of  the  most  romantic  figures  in  the  his- 
tory of  our  time.  His  career  borders  on  the  mar- 
vellous, his  character  has  something  of  the  heroic 
about  it.  His  frank  and  open  bearing,  his  social 
charms,  and  his  military  prowess  on  behalf  of  his 
adopted  country  on  the  field  of  Slivnitza,  endeared 
him  to  the  cold  hearts  of  a  people  which  is  seldom 
enthusiastic.  He  was  essentially  a  soldier,  and  was 
the  best  possible  ruler  of  a  country  like  Bulgaria  in 
time  of  war.  But  he  was  lamentably  deficient  in  the 
arts  of  a  statesman.  A  diplomatist,  who  knew  him 
intimately,  has  described  to  the  writer  the  obsti- 
nacy and  singular  incapacity  which  he  showed  in 
matters  of  business,  while  he  committed  indiscre- 
tions of  speech  which  proved  that  he  had,  like  some 
other  sovereigns,  never  mastered  that  aphorism  of 
Metternich,  that '  a  monarch  should  never  talk.'  He 
had  a  singular  knack  of  quarrelling  with  his  advi- 
sers, which  once  drew  upon  him  a  sharp  rebuke  from 
the  tsar.  He  was  not  a  great  administrator  or  a 
clever  politician;  but  if  he  had  had  an  old  and  ex- 
perienced statesman  to  guide  him  he  might  have 
succeeded.  Unfortunately,  he  estranged  first  the 
liberals,  who  included  all  the  ablest  men  in  Bulgaria, 
and  then  the  Russians,  and  when  the  latter  desired 
his  fall,  befell." 

At  the  suggestion  of  the  Russians,  who  had  se- 
cured him  his  throne,  Prince  Alexander  selected  the 
members  of  his  cabinet  from  the  conservative,  or 
Russophil,  party,  which  represented  a  very  small 
minority  of  the  voters.  As  the  first  national  assem- 
bly was  overwhelmingly  liberal  in  politics,  a  dead- 


The  New  Bulgarian  Kingdom  53 


lock  ensued,  and  the  prince  was  forced  to  dismiss 
his  Russophil  cabinet  and  nominate  Dragan  Zankoif, 
then  the  chief  antagonist  of  Russia  in  Bulgaria,  as 
prime  minister.  A  brief  experience  with  the  bel- 
ligerent government,  convinced  the  prince  that  he 
could  not  work  with  the  national  assembly;  he  exe- 
cuted a  coup  d'etat,  and  on  the  27th  of  xipril,  1881, 
he  suspended  the  constitution. 

He  made  General  Ernroth,  a  Russian,  his  prime 
minister,  and  threatened  to  resign  the  throne  unless 
he  was  given  absolute  power  for  a  period  of  seven 
years.  The  constitution  was  suspended,  and  the 
government  was  again  turned  over  to  the  hands  of 
Russians.  So  long  as  Tsar  Alexander  II  lived  the 
relations  of  Prince  Alexander  with  Russia  were 
most  cordial;  but  Tsar  Alexander  III  disliked  his 
cousin  heartily,  and  the  Russian  officials  soon  made 
it  evident  to  the  prince  that  they  took  their  orders 
from  St.  Petersburg. 

Alexander  chafed  under  the  arbitrary  rule  of  his 
Russian  masters,  who  were  not  at  pains  to  spare  the 
feelings  of  the  ostensible  ruler  of  the  country  or  the 
Bulgarian  people.  It  has  frequently  been  remarked 
by  travellers  that  of  all  the  races  in  the  Balkans, 
tlie  Bulgars  are  the  most  thrifty  and  economical 
and  the  most  suspicious  of  foreigners.  Yet  the  Rus- 
sian government  not  only  monopolized  such  offices 
as  president  of  the  national  assembly,  minister  of 
war,  chief  of  police,  governor  of  Sofia,  and  several 
hundred  of  the  most  lucrative  posts  in  the  army,  but 
the  officials  that  came  from  St.  Petersburg  w^ere 
**  men  who  had  proved  either  failures  or  firebrands 


54  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

wherever  they  had  been  employed,  and  spent  money 
—  the  peasants'  money  —  right  and  left." 

These  conditions  induced  the  prince  to  surrender 
the  irresponsible  power  in  1883 ;  he  restored  the 
constitution,  and  the  Russians  in  indignation  left 
the  country.  A  plot  to  kidnap  the  prince  was  dis- 
covered, also  proclamations  announcing  his  expul- 
sion from  Bulgaria,  and  the  formation  of  a  provi- 
sional government.  Subsequent  investigations  im- 
plicated Generals  Kaulbars  and  Soboleff  and  other 
Russian  officials  and  established  conclusively  the 
complicity  of  Russia  in  the  plot.  The  liberals  re- 
turned to  power  and  during:  the  next  ten  years  Rus- 
sian influence  in  Bulgarian  affairs  was  reduced  to 
a  minimum. 

In  an  earlier  chapter  attention  was  called  to  the 
creation  of  Eastern  Rumelia  by  the  congress  of 
Berlin.  The  inhabitants  of  this  province  were  al- 
most entirely  Bulgars,  and  early  in  the  reign  of 
Prince  Alexander  they  sent  deputations  to  Sofia 
asking  that  they  might  be  united  w^ith  that  princi- 
pality. Russia  had  originally  favoured  this  union, 
but  the  growth  of  an  independent  national  spirit  in 
the  rejuvenated  nation  caused  her  to  change  her 
policy;  and  after  the  departure  of  the  Russian  of- 
ficials from  Bulgaria  she  opposed  the  union  vigor- 
ously. Alexander  was  not  able,  in  consequence,  to 
comply  with  the  wishes  of  the  inhabitants  of  East- 
ern Rumelia. 

In  September,  1885,  the  liberals  of  Eastern  Ru- 
melia took  matters  into  their  own  hands.  They  took 
the  governor  of  the  province  captive,  and  without 


The  New  Bulgarian  Kingdom  55 

the  loss  of  a  droi">  of  blood  they  proclaimed  the  union 
of  Eastern  Rumelia  with  Bulgaria.  Even  then 
Prince  Alexander  hesitated  to  further  incur  the  hos- 
tility of  Russia.  Stefan  Stamboloff,  who  was  later 
to  play  such  an  important  role  in  the  history  of  the 
young  principality,  was  president  of  the  national 
assembly,  and  he  is  reported  to  have  told  Prince 
Alexander  that  he  had  reached  the  cross-roads  in 
his  career.  '*  One  road,"  he  said,  '*  leads  to  East- 
ern Rumelia  and  as  much  further  as  God  may  lead; 
but  the  other  to  the  Danube  and  back  to  Darmstadt.** 
The  prince  chose  the  former,  and  on  the  20th  of 
September  he  issued  a  proclamation  which  declared 
the  union  of  the  two  provinces. 

War  with  Turkey  was  apprehended,  and  it  is  well 
known  that  Russia  advised  the  Porte  to  resist  this 
act  of  alleged  aggression.  But  Turkey  was  momen- 
tarily crippled ;  and  Sir  William  White,  the  British 
ambassador  at  Constantinople,  strongly  supported 
the  Bulgarian  cause.  England  and  Russia  had  ex- 
changed places  in  their  respective  attitudes  toward 
Bulgaria.  Seven  years  earlier  at  the  congress  of 
Berlin  Russia  had  favoured  but  England  had  op- 
posed the  union  of  Eastern  Rumelia  with  Bulgaria. 

Greece  and  Servia  were  both  indignant  because  of 
this  increase  of  territory  by  a  sister  state,  but  the 
former  was  prevented  from  declaring  war  by  a 
naval  demonstration  of  the  powers.  King  Milan  of 
Servia  ordered  the  mobilization  of  the  Servian 
army  the  day  of  the  oflicial  declaration  of  union  of 
the  two  Bulgarias.  His  army  of  seventeen  thousand 
soldiers  crossed  the  Bulgarian   frontier,  where  it 


56  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

met  a  Bulgarian  force  of  eleven  thousand  and  en- 
countered a  most  humiliating  defeat.  In  spite  of 
the  fact  that  the  Bulgarian  army  had  only  recently 
been  deprived  of  all  its  chief  officers  by  the  exo- 
dus of  the  Russians,  the  courage  of  the  prince  and 
the  skill  of  the  Bulgar  soldiers  triumphed  every- 
where against  the  Serbs;  and  Belgrade,  the  capital 
of  Servia,  would  have  been  occupied  but  for  the 
intervention  of  the  Austrians.  Austria  informed 
Prince  Alexander  that  if  his  army  marched  any 
further  it  would  have  to  encounter  an  Austrian 
army  allied  with  the  Servian. 

The  Bulgars  were  forced  to  yield  to  superior 
force;  and  through  the  machinations  of  Austria  and 
Russia,  Servia  escaped  unpunished  for  her  war  of 
aggression,  for  the  Bulgars  did  not  get  an  inch  of 
land  or  a  cent  of  war  indemnity.  Eastern  Rumelia, 
however,  was  secured  to  her  by  the  war. 

In  spite  of  the  honours  showered  upon  Prince 
Alexander  as  the  **  hero  of  Slivnitza,"  and  the 
growing  independence  of  the  Bulgarian  people, 
Russia  continued  her  intrigues.  Shortly  after  the 
close  of  the  Servian  war,  a  plot  was  discovered  at 
Burgas  to  carry  off  the  prince,  or  if  necessary,  to 
kill  him.  Another  plot  was  soon  hatched  by  the 
Russophil  party  in  Bulgaria.  In  the  early  morning 
of  the  21st  of  August,  1886,  a  party  of  conspirators 
forced  entrance  into  the  palace  at  Sofia  and  at  the 
point  of  a  revolver  the  prince  was  forced  to  abdi- 
cate and  leave  the  country.  The  leading  conspira- 
tors were  Clement,  the  intriguing  metropolitan  of 
the  Orthodox  church,  Bendereff,  acting  minister  of 


.♦* 


•IH 


ir~ 


^^ipf^^^^^  " 


V^ 


The  New  Bulgarian  Kingdom  57 

war,  and  Grueff,  principal  of  the  military  academy. 
The  prince  with  an  armed  military  escort  was 
hastily  driven  to  the  Danube,  and  from  the  Danube 
taken  to  Russia. 

The  metropolitan  Clement  formed  a  cabinet  of 
his  Russian  partisans  and  issued  a  proclamation 
assuring  the  people  that  order  would  promptly  be 
restored  and  promising  them  the  protection  of  the 
tsar  of  Russia!  Stefan  Stamboloff,  as  president  of 
the  national  assembly,  and  Colonel  Mutkuroff,  as 
commander  of  the  military  forces  in  the  newly  ac- 
quired province  of  Eastern  Rumelia,  issued  a  coun- 
ter proclamation ;  Clement  and  his  colleagues  were 
denounced  as  traitors,  and  the  Bulgarian  people 
were  urged  to  rally  in  defence  of  the  throne.  The 
provisional  government  of  Clement  and  his  con- 
spirators was  dissolved ;  a  regency  was  formed  until 
the  prince  could  be  found  and  induced  to  return. 
The  conspirators  had  taken  him  to  Lemberg,  where 
the  Russian  authorities  had  released  him.  The 
regency  telegraphed  him  to  return  at  once  and  re- 
sume his  post  as  the  rightful  ruler  of  the  principal- 
ity. The  prince  accepted  the  offer  before  the  Rus- 
sian commissioner  could  forestall  him.  He  returned 
to  Rustchuk,  where  he  was  met  by  the  local  Russian 
consul.  At  the  suggestion  of  the  latter  he  sent  a 
telegram  to  the  tsar  of  Russia  thanking  him  for 
having  restored  to  him  the  throne  of  Bulgaria.  The 
servile  message  read:  **  Russia  gave  me  my  crown; 
I  am  ready  to  return  it  into  the  hands  of  her  sover- 
eign." This  caused  the  undoing  of  the  prince.  The 
tsar  replied:    "  Cannot  approve  of  your  return  to 


58  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Bulgaria.  I  shall  refrain  from  all  interference  with 
the  sad  state  to  which  Bulgaria  has  been  brought  so 
long  as  you  remain  there." 

He  was  forced  by  Russia  to  abdicate.  Stamboloff 
urged  him  in  vain  to  remain  and  defy  the  threats 
of  the  tsar,  but  he  declined  to  keep  the  throne 
against  the  wishes  of  the  powerful  Russian  sover- 
eign, and  he  promised  to  abdicate  provided  Russia 
would  consent  to  allow  the  Bui  gars  to  elect  his  suc- 
cessor. To  this  Russia  consented;  and  on  the  7th 
of  September,  1886,  he  made  public  his  abdication, 
and  the  appointment  of  Stamboloff,  Karaveloff,  and 
Mutkurolf  as  regents  until  such  time  as  the  people 
might  select  a  prince  as  his  successor. 

*'  The  next  day,"  notes  a  historian  of  the  period, 
'*  sadly  and  sorrowfully  the  prince  bade  farewell  to 
Bulgaria  for  ever.  He  summoned  the  chief  men  of 
Sofia  to  the  palace;  told  them  how  the  welfare  of 
his  adopted  country  had  been  his  sole  desire,  and 
confessed  that  he  had  failed  because  of  the  great 
opposition  that  he  had  met.  And  then  he  set  out 
with  Stamboloff,  amidst  the  tears  of  his  subjects, 
sorry  to  leave  them,  yet  glad  to  be  freed  from  the 
responsibilities  of  a  Balkan  throne.  His  memory 
lived,  and  still  lives  after  his  death,  among  the 
people  of  his  adoption.  Under  the  name  of  Count 
Hartenau,  happily  yet  humbly  married,  he  tried  to 
bury  the  prince  in  the  simple  Austrian  officer.  But 
long  after  his  departure  there  were  men  in  Bulgaria 
who  hoped  for  his  return.  His  faults  —  and  they 
were  many  —  were  forgotten;  it  was  remembered 
that  in  seven  brief  years  he  had  created  an  army, 


The  New  Bulgarian  Kingdom  59 

led  a  nation  to  victory,  and  united  the  two  Bulga- 
rias  together.  And  when  he  died  in  1893,  many  a 
peasant  in  liis  humble  cottage  mourned  for  the 
soldier  prince,  the  hero  of  Slivnitza."^ 

1  The  Balkmis.    By  William  Miller.    New  York,  1907,  pp.  476. 


CHAPTER   VI 

BULGAItIA    UNDER    KING    FERDINAND 

Alienation  of  the  Bulgarian  sympathies  by  the  intrigues  of  the  Russians 
—  Election  of  Prince  Ferdinand  by  the  national  assembly  —  Re- 
fusal of  the  po\>  ers  to  recognize  tiie  election  —  Non-recognition  a 
distinct  advantage  —  StambolufT  and  the  friendly  relations  of  Bul- 
garia with  the  governments  of  Europe  — •  intriguing  Ilussophil  ec- 
clesiastics —  How  ytainboloff  disciplined  them  — •  Birth  of  Prince 
Boris  —  Friction  between  Ferdinand  and  his  great  minister  —  The 
downfall  of  StambololT  —  Sinister  Russian  inlluences  again  in  evi- 
dence—  Dedication  of  the  Russian  chapel  at  Shipka  pass  —  Inde- 
pendence of  Bulgaria  from  Turkey  —  What  Kmg  Ferdinand  has 
accomplished  —  Popularity  of  Pnnce  Boris  —  His  rebaptism  to 
the  faith  of  the  national  Orthodox  church. 

The  constitution  of  Bulgaria  provided  that  in 
case  tlie  throne  slioiild  become  vacant,  elections  to 
the  grand  sobranje  for  the  choice  of  a  successor 
should  take  place  within  one  month  from  the  date 
of  such  vacancy.  Accordingly  the  regents  made  ar- 
rangements for  a  general  election  in  accordance 
with  constitutional  requirement.  The  tsar  of  Rus- 
sia, Avith  the  avowed  object  of  ''  assisting  the  Bul- 
gars  in  their  difficulties,"  sent  General  Kaulbars  to 
Sofia.  "  To  the  action  of  this  man  more  than  to 
any  other  cajiise,"  writes  William  Miller,  "  may  be 
attributed  the  antipathy  of  Russia  which  has  grown 
up  in  the  country  which  she  helped  to  liberate." 

Kaulbars  came  to  Bulgaria  "  with  a  knout  in  his 
hand."  First  he  attempted  to  postpone  the  elec- 
tions to  the  grand  sobranje,  and  failing  in  this 
he    conducted    an    extremely    indiscreet    campaign 

60 


Bulgaria  Under  King  Ferdinand         61 

throughout  the  country,  in  wliich  by  verj'  question- 
able means  he  endeavoured  to  secure  the  election  of 
an  assembly  with  Russian  sympathies.  But  Stam- 
boloff  and  the  liberal  party  secured  an  enormous 
majority,  and  then  Kaulbars  attempted  to  nullify 
the  returns  by  the  allegation  that  violence  had  been 
used  and  that  the  verdict  did  not  represent  the  will 
of  the  majority  of  the  Bulgarian  electors.  Violence 
had  been  employed,  but  it  was  the  violence  incited 
by  the  Russian  consular  agents  and  the  Russophil 
party.  Disgusted  with  his  humiliating  defeat,  Gen- 
eral Kaulbars,  accompanied  by  all  the  Russian  con- 
sular agents  in  Bulgaria,  left  the  country  and  re- 
turned to  Russia. 

The  grand  sobranje  met  at  Tirnovo  the  10th  of 
November,  1886,  and  unanimously  elected  Prince 
Valdemar  of  Denmark  as  successor  of  Prince  Alex- 
ander. Prince  Valdemar  was  a  son  of  the  king  of 
Denmark,  brother  of  the  princess  of  Wales  and  of 
the  dowager  empress  of  Russia.  It  was  felt  that 
the  election  of  so  near  a  relative  of  the  tsar  would 
not  be  opposed  by  Russia.  But  Tsar  Alexander  III 
refused  to  recognize  the  election  as  valid,  and  Prince 
Valdemar  declined  the  crown. 

Europe  was  ransacked  for  a  candidate,  and  it  was 
not  until  the  following  summer  that  a  royal  cadet 
was  found  who  was  walling  to  accept  the  crown  of 
the  uncertain  Bulgnrian  ])rincipalit3^  The  grand 
sobranje  met  at  Tirnovo  the  7th  of  July,  1887,  and 
elected  Prince  Ferdinand  of  Saxe-Cobnrg-Gotha  as 
the  sovereign  of  their  country.  He  accepted  the 
throne,  and  five  weeks  later  (the  14th  of  August) 


62  Bulgaria  and  Her  People     

took  the  oath  of  office  at  the  ancient  capital  of  the 
Bulgarian  tsars. 

Prince  Ferdinand  was  the  youngest  son  of  Prince 
Augustus  of  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha  and  Princess  Clem- 
entine of  Bourbon-Orleans,  a  daughter  of  King 
Louis  Philippe  of  France.  He  was  bom  the  26th 
of  February,  1861.  He  married  (first)  the  20th  of 
April,  1893,  Princess  Maria  Louise,  eldest  daughter 
of  the  Duke  of  Parma.  Four  children  were  born  to 
them:  Prince  Boris,  boru  the  20th  of  January, 
1894;  Prince  Kyril,  bom  the  17th  of  November, 
1895 ;  Princess  Eudoxia,  born  the  17th  of  January, 
1898,  and  Princess  Nadejda,  born  the  30th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1899.  The  Princess  Maria  Louise  died  the 
31st  of  January,  1899,  and  Prince  Ferdinand  mar- 
ried (second)  the  28th  of  February,  1908,  Princess 
Eleanora  of  Eeuss-Kostritz. 

The  hostile  Russians  hounded  Prince  Ferdinand 
and  his  government.  The  treaty  of  Berlin  had 
stipulated  that  the  election  of  the  ruler  of  Bulgaria 
by  the  national  assembly  must  be  confirmed  by  the 
great  powers.  Russia  refused  her  consent  to  the 
confirmation  on  the  ground  that  the  national  as- 
sembly which  selected  Ferdinand  had  not  been  le- 
gally elected.  Desirable  as  formal  recognition  may- 
have  been  to  the  sense  of  propriety  of  the  prince, 
it  did  not  matter  a  pinch  of  snuff  to  the  Bulgarian 
people;  and  amid  enthusiasm,  the  new  sovereign 
assumed  the  responsibilities  of  his  crown.  ''  Indi- 
rectly," writes  an  English  historian,  "  the  non- 
recognition  of  Prince  Ferdinand  had  this  advantage, 
that  there  was  no  Russian  agent  accredited  to  his 


KING    FKRDINAND. 


Bulgaria  Under  King  Ferdinand  03 

court,  and  consequently  no  Russian  agency  always 
at  work  to  undermine  bis  throne." 

Stefan  Stamboloff,  whose  conspicuous  services  to 
his  country  have  been  mentioned  in  a  previous  chap- 
ter, was  chosen  prime  minister  by  Ferdinand,  the 
1st  of  September,  1887,  and  this  position  he  occu- 
pied without  intermission  till  his  fall  the  31st  of 
May,  1894.  The  first  effort  of  the  prime  minister 
was  to  establish  friendly  relations  with  Turkey, 
which  averted  the  interference  of  the  Ottoman  gov- 
ernment with  tbe  practical  independence  of  Eastern 
Rumelia.  To  this  friendly  relation  was  due  the 
establishment  of  two  additional  Bulgarian  bishops 
in  Macedonia  and  permission  to  organize  a  large 
number  of  Bulgarian  schools  in  different  parts  of 
the  Turkish  empire  where  there  were  considerable 
colonies  of  Bulgars. 

Early  in  1889  Clement,  the  metropolitan  of  the 
national  Orthodox  church  at  Sofia,  preached  a  ser- 
mon at  Tirnovo  in  which  he  attacked  the  prince  and 
his  government  in  violent  terms.  It  was  well  known 
that  the  Russophil  metropolitans  had  been  plotting 
against  the  Roman  Catholics  in  Bulgaria ;  and  it 
was  rumoured  that  at  a  meeting  of  the  Holy  Synod 
to  be  held  at  Sofia  an  anathema  was  to  bo  pro- 
nounced against  the  prince,  and  this  was  to  be  the 
signal  for  a  Russophil  uprising  against  the  liberal 
government. 

When  the  Holy  Synod  was  convoked  at  Sofia  only 
three  of  the  five  metropolitans  attended  —  Clement, 
the  notorious  intriguer,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
brief  provisional  government  that  followed  the  coup 


64  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 


d'etat,  described  above;  Simeon,  who  had  been  sus- 
pended by  the  regency  of  Stamboloff  a  year  for 
sedition,  and  Conslantine,  whose  connection  with  the 
Russian  intriguers  was  notorious.  Two  of  the  met- 
ropolitans, who  wore  friendly  to  the  government, 
did  not  attend  the  convocation. 

The  prelates  were  invited  to  pay  their  respects 
to  the  prince,  the  prime  minister,  and  the  minister 
of  public  worship.  This  they  refused  to  do  on  the 
ground  that  Ferdinand  had  encouraged  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion  to  the  detriment  of  the  national 
Orthodox  church,  and  that  he  and  his  ministers  had 
repeatedly  infringed  on  the  canons  of  the  state  re- 
ligion. Stamboloff  promptly  informed  them  that 
the  government  could  have  no  relations  with  them 
and  they  were  ordered  to  return  to  their  respective 
dioceses  within  three  days.  They  regarded  the 
order  merely  as  a  threat,  assuming  that  no  ministry 
would  dare  use  violence  against  the  heads  of  the 
established  church.  But  they  omitted  the  dogged 
nature  of  Stamboloff  in  their  calculation.  At  the 
expiration  of  the  three  days  the  recalcitrant  ecclesi- 
astics were  waited  upon  by  the  police  and  accom- 
panied to  their  respective  bishoprics. 

The  sympathy  of  Orthodox  fanaticism  against  the 
prince  was  enlisted;  and  some  of  the  Russophil 
statesmen,  who  later  played  leading  roles  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  King  Ferdinand,  petitioned  the  exarch 
at  Constantinople  to  redress  the  indignity  that  had 
been  heaped  upon  his  metropolitans.  But  the 
shrewd  exarch  waste-basketed  the  petition. 

Cordial  relations  were  also  established  with  Ru- 


Bulgaria  Under  King  Ferdinand  65 

mania  and  other  European  powers,  and  a  needed 
loan  on  very  favourable  terms  was  secured  from 
foreign  financiers.  The  marriage  of  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand presented  a  difficult  political  situation.  The 
Duke  of  Parma  insisted  that  a  condition  of  the  mar- 
riage of  his  daughter  'with  the  prince  would  be  a 
promise  to  rear  the  children  that  might  result  from 
this  union  in  the  faith  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 
The  Bulgarian  constitution  specifically  stated  that 
the  heir  to  the  throne  must  belong  to  the  Orthodox 
national  church.  For  political  reasons  Stamboloff 
consented  to  the  demands  of  the  duke;  the  consti- 
tution was  changed,  and  Boris,  the  first-born,  was 
baptized  a  Roman  Catholic.  Two  years  later,  and 
after  the  fall  of  Stamboloff,  tlic  prince  was  rebap- 
tized  in  the  Orthodox  national  church.  It  was  the 
belief  of  Prince  Ferdinand  that  if  the  heir  apparent 
to  the  Bulgarian  throne  should  be  converted  to  the 
faith  of  the  Orthodox  church,  it  would  be  the  means 
of  bringing  about  a  reconciliation  of  his  country 
with  Russia;  and  more  important,  his  legal  recog- 
nition by  the  tsar.  It  was  argued,  and  with  reason, 
that  the  future  ruler  of  the  country  should  profess 
the  same  faith  as  the  great  majority  of  his  subjects. 
The  Holy  See  at  Rome  was  petitioned  to  grant  the 
change  of  the  faith  of  the  young  prince;  but,  as  the 
petition  was  denied,  the  conversion  took  place  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  authorities  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church. 

Friction  between  Ferdinand  and  his  prime  minis- 
ter developed  shortly  after  the  marriage  of  the 
prince  and  the  birth  of  an  heir,  and  on  the  31st  of 


m Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

May,  1894,  rrince  Ferdinand  dismissed  Stamboloff 
from  his  counsels.  In  a  subsequent  chapter  the  sig- 
nificant services  of  Stamboloff  in  behalf  of  his  coun- 
try will  be  pointed  out.  In  this  connection  it  is  only 
necessary  to  indicate  the  justification  of  the  prince 
in  the  dismissal  of  his  prime  minister.  An  English 
historian  well  states  the  cause  of  the  rupture: 
''  Prince  Ferdinand's  marriage  and  the  birth  of  an 
heir  strengthened  the  djaiasty  but  weakened  its 
great  minister.  From  that  date  the  sovereign  be- 
came increasingly  impatient  of  control,  until  at  last 
on  the  31st  of  May,  1894,  the  world  learned  with  sur- 
prise that  he  had  dismissed  the  '  Bismarck  '  of  Bul- 
garia from  his  counsels.  His  alliance  with  a  Bour- 
bon princess  had  greatly  increased  his  desire  for 
recognition,  and  he  regarded  his  minister  as  the 
chief  obstacle  in  the  way.  There  were  intriguers 
at  the  prince's  elbow,  old  colleagues  whom  Stam- 
boloff's  growing  arrogance  had  alienated,  who  poi- 
soned their  sovereign's  mind  against  the  premier. 
Relations  between  the  two  men  became  worse;  con- 
versations at  the  palace  were  faithfully  reported  to 
the  minister,  who  was  not  backward  in  telling  his 
master  to  his  face  what  he  thought  of  his  conduct. 
Stamboloff  Uvice  offered  to  resign;  the  prince  de- 
clined to  accept  his  resignation,  fearing  that  the 
great  popularity,  which  his  minister  had  just  gained 
by  the  appointment  of  the  second  batch  of  Bulgarian 
bishops  in  Macedonia,  would  make  him  even  more 
dangerous  in  opposition  than  in  office.  A  domestic 
scandal,  in  which  one  of  Stamboloff 's  most  trusted 
colleagues  was  involved,  gave  the  prince  his  oppor- 


Bulgaria  Under  King  Ferdinand         67 

tunity.  He  pressed  for  the  noniiiiation  of  a  favour- 
ite of  Ills  own  to  the  vacant  portfolio,  and  carried 
his  point  by  threatening  to  abdicate  rather  than 
yield.  The  presence  of  an  enemy  within  his  cab- 
inet embarrassed  the  premier  and  emboldened  the 
prince  and  tlie  opposition  to  further  attacks."  In 
a  moment  of  rage  Stamboloff  wrote  a  hasty  letter 
of  resignation  to  his  sovereign,  which  the  prince 
promptly  accepted. 

Dr.  Stoiioff,  an  able  law}^er  w^ho  had  served  as 
private  secretary  to  the  prince,  became  prime  min- 
ister, and  the  policy  of  the  new  government  was 
one  of  conciliation  towards  Russia.  With  the  re- 
baptism  of  Prince  Boris  into  the  faith  of  the  Ortho- 
dox national  church,  on  the  14th  of  February,  Rus- 
sian influence  became  more  ay)parent  at  Sofia.  Fi- 
nancial disorders  caused  the  fall  of  the  Stoiioff 
ministry.  A  new  cabinet  was  organized  with  Gre- 
koff  as  premier,  but  his  failure  to  secure  a  foreign 
loan  frustrated  his  efforts  to  improve  economic 
conditions.  Ministries  were  formed  and  dismissed 
in  rather  rapid  succession.  The  efforts  of  Karavel- 
off,  who  became  prime  minister  for  the  third  time 
in  March,  1901,  to  improve  financial  conditions  in 
the  country,  were  abortive;  and  in  June,  1902,  a 
new  cabinet  under  Dr.  Daneff  was  formed.  Russian 
influence  now  became  predominant,  and  this  influ- 
ence brought  the  kingdom  to  the  verge  of  ruin  in 
the  second  Balkan  war. 

Late  in  the  summer  of  1902  the  Russians  dedi- 
cated a  handsome  chapel  at  the  foot  of  Shipka  pass 
in  the  Balkan  mountains  to  the  memory  of  the  Rus- 


68 Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

sian  and  Bulgarian  soldiers  who  fell  in  the  famous 
encounter  at  this  place  in  the  war  of  liberation. 
Many  distinguished  Russians  were  present;  and 
with  a  Russophil-Bulgarian  cabinet  in  power,  it 
looked  for  a  brief  time  as  though  the  Bulgars 
liad  quite  forgotten  the  long  years  of  Russian 
intrigue  against  the  independence  of  their  coun- 
try. 

The  ardour  of  the  Bulgars  for  Russia,  however, 
was  soon  dampened.  The  interference  of  the  tsar's 
government  in  Macedonia  in  an  attempt  to  place  a 
Servian  prelate  in  a  Bulgarian  see,  the  efforts  of 
the  Russians  to  get  control  of  the  Bulgarian  army, 
and  the  discovery  of  an  alleged  plot  to  make  Burgas 
and  Varna  Russian  ports  caused  a  cabinet  crisis 
in  May,  1903;  the  Russophil  ministry  fell,  and  the 
Stambolovist,  or  liberal  party,  with  General  Pe- 
troff  as  the  prime  minister,  came  into  power. 

On  the  5th  of  October,  1908,  Bulgaria  declared  her 
independence  of  the  suzerainty  of  the  sultan  of 
Turkey,  and  Prince  Ferdinand  assumed  the  title 
that  had  been  used  by  the  rulers  of  the  old  kingdom 
of  Bulgaria,  that  of  tsar.  The  Porte  protested  to 
the  powers,  but  Russia  proposed  to  advance  an 
indemnity,  and  the  powers  finally  ratified  the  com- 
plete independence  of  the  country.  Barbarities 
committed  by  the  Turks  against  the  Bulgars  in 
Macedonia  brought  the  country  to  the  brink  of  war 
with  the  Ottoman  empire  several  times  in  recent 
years.  These  disturbances  will  be  described  in 
later  chapters  on  Macedonia. 

Under  the  rule  of  King  Ferdinand  Bulgaria  has 


Bulgaria  Under  King  Ferdinand  C9 

made  enormous  progress  in  matters  of  culture,  in- 
dustry, trade,  and  agriculture.  His  services  to  his 
adopted  country  have  been  both  varied  and  effect- 
ive. Writing  of  Ferdinand  in  1891,  Mr.  J.  D.  Bour- 
chier,  the  veteran  and  distinguished  correspondent 
of  the  Londo7i  Times  at  Sofia,  says:  *'  He  had  em- 
barked upon  what  seemed  an  ahiiost  hopeless  adven- 
ture; he  was  confronted  with  the  hostility  of  a 
power  (Russia)  which  knew  no  scruple  in  the  pros- 
ecution of  its  designs;  he  had  come  into  a  country 
honeycombed  with  the  workings  of  Oriental  con- 
spiracy; he  liad  to  deal  witli  an  army  tainted  with 
mutiny,  and  uith  a  hierarchy  that  had  sold  itself 
to  the  enemies  of  Bulgarian  freedom.  All  Europe 
stood  aloof;  even  Austria-Hungary  scarcely  ven- 
tured to  offer  a  word  of  encouragement;  in  England 
the  undeserved  misfortunes  of  Prince  Alexander  had 
excited  a  national  indignation  which  seemed  to  ex- 
clude all  sympathy  with  his  successor," 

Against  all  these  odds  Mr.  Bourchier  wrote; 
"  Prince  Ferdinand  has  held  his  ground  amidst  the 
snares  and  pitfalls  of  political  life  in  a  distracted 
and  still  half-civ'ilized  countr3^  He  has  learned 
and  is  still  learning  to  accommodate  himself  to  the 
peculiarities  of  Bulgarian  character;  he  has  mas- 
tered the  Bulgarian  tongue;  he  has  found  means 
of  acting  in  harmony  with  a  minister  (StamboloiT) 
of  autocratic  disposition,  whose  great  ability,  cour- 
age, and  patriotism  render  him  indispensable  to  the 
national  progress.  He  possesses  not  only  diplo- 
matic tact  in  reconciling  hostile  elements,  but  ho 
also  knows  how  to  yield  at  a  i)roper  time  —  a  lesson 


70  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

which  all  constitutional  sovereigns  must  sooner  or 
later  learn;  while  his  energ}^  and  tenacity  of  char- 
acter enable  him  to  grapple  firmly  with  innumerable 
difficulties. 

''  Prince  Ferdinand's  devotion  and  self-sacrifice 
are  beginning  to  meet  with  their  reward.  The  inter- 
nal development  of  the  country,  its  excellent  finan- 
cial condition,  the  spread  of  education,  the  construc- 
tion of  railways,  the  improvement  of  the  capital,  the 
negotiation  of  treaties  of  commerce  with  foreign 
powers,  the  practical  recognition  now^  accorded  by 
the  latter  to  the  existing  regime,  the  recent  diplo- 
matic success  with  Turkey  —  all  point  to  advance- 
ment at  home  as  well  as  abroad;  one  by  one  the 
magnates  of  Europe  have  sounded  the  note  of  praise 
and  last,  but  not  least,  the  Man  of  Blood  and  Iron 
(Bismarck),  who  once  so  brutally  expressed  his 
indifference  to  the  fate  of  the  young  principality, 
has  uttered  words  of  approbation  and  encourage- 
ment. There  is  no  resisting  the  logic  of  facts.  Bul- 
garia under  Prince  Ferdinand  has  been  a  suc- 
cess."^ 

Subsequent  chapters  will  recite  the  development 
of  education,  industry,  and  the  arts  during  the  more 
than  quarter-century  reign  of  King  Ferdinand,  and 
Bulgarians  are  themselves  cognizant  of  this  ad- 
vancement and  the  large  measure  of  credit  that 
belongs  to  their  sovereign.  And  if,  as  M,  de  Launay 
remarks,  "  the  king  is  not  popular  in  the  ordinary 
sense  of  that  term  as  the  royal  head  of  the  nation, 

'  Arrival  of  Ferdinand.  Ry  J.  D.  Bourchier.  Fortnightly  Retnctv, 
Jan.,  1891.    Vol.  55,  pp.  82-101. 


HRINCE    UOKIS. 


Bulgaria  Under  King  Ferdinand         71 

certainly  the  j^ractical  Bulgars  appreciate  bis  value 
as  tlie  president  of  a  crowned  republic."^ 

Prince  Boris,  the  heir  apparent  to  the  Bulgarian 
throne,  is  a  young  man  of  promise  and  is  highly 
esteemed  by  his  subjects.  As  already  mentioned, 
the  young  Boris  was  originally  baptized  in  the  faith 
of  the  church  of  liis  father  and  mother,  in  accord- 
ance witli  tlie  wishes  of  the  latter  and  her  father. 
Stamboloff,  for  reasons  of  state,  secured  an  altera- 
tion of  the  constitution  that  these  wishes  might  be 
carried  out.  But  the  Bulgarian  people  resented  the 
change.  After  the  reconciliation  with  Russia,  Fer- 
dinand wrote  Tsar  Nicholas  his  determination  to 
have  the  prince  rebaptized.  The  tsar  was  much 
pleased  with  the  decision.  John  MacDonald  writes 
in  this  connection :  '*  Looked  at  as  a  clever  move  in 
the  diplomatic  game,  the  infant  prince's  conversion 
at  this  particular  time  was  far  more  effective  for 
the  prince's  conciliatory  purpose  than  an  Orthodox 
baptism  at  birth  would  have  been.  The  early  rite 
would  have  been  universally  regarded  as  a  matter 
of  course.  Tt  would  have  made  no  impression  on 
the  obdurate  Tsar  Alexander  ITT.  But  the  lost 
sheep's  return  to  the  fold  —  the  lost  lamb's  —  was 
an  impressive  event.  .  .  .  The  26th  of  February  was 
the  appointed  day  for  the  Orthodox  rite.  The  place 
was  the  historic  town  of  Tirnovo.  The  selection  of 
the  old  capital  was  another  manifestation  of  the 
prince's  talent  for  mastership  of  the  ceremonies. 
The  scene  was  almost  as  imposing  as  Prince  Fer- 

•  La  Ihdgaric  d'hicr  cl  dc  dcnuiin.  By  I^uis  dc  Launay.  Paria,  1912, 
pp.  494. 


72  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 


dinand's  advent  there  niue  years  before  to  inau^- 
rate  the  rebuilding  of  the  Bulgarian  state.  Great 
companies  of  country  people,  singing  their  old  na- 
tional songs,  displaying  banners  with  patriotic  mot- 
toes, filled  the  roads  converging  to  the  city.  The 
house  fronts  of  Tirnovo  were  decorated  with  tro- 
phies of  Russian  and  Bulgarian  flags  combined. 
The  streets  resounded  with  the  Russian  and  Bul- 
garian national  hymns.  It  was  a  Russian  festival 
as  well  as  a  national  one."  ^ 

>  Czar  Ferdinand  and  his  People.    By  Jolrn  MacDonald.    New  York, 
[1913],  pp.  344. 


CHAPTER    VIT 

STAMBOLOFF    VS.    RUSSIAN    INTRIGUES 

The  early  life  of  Stefan  Stamboloff  -—  His  Russian  experiences  —  Con- 
nection with  the  Bulgarian  revohitionary  committee  —  Leader  of 
the  uprising  at  Stara  Zagora  —  President  of  the  national  assembly 
—  His  role  in  the  union  of  the  two  Bulgarias  —  Prime  minister  to 
Prince  Alexander  —  IIow  ho  met  the  attacks  of  Russia  against  Bul- 
garian independence  —  The  regency  —  Prime  minister  under  Prince 
Ferdinand  —  Was  his  rule  despotic?  —  How  he  punished  Mace- 
donian brigands  —  His  quarrels  with  the  prince  —  Resignation 
from  the  ministry  —  Cruel  persecution  by  the  Russophil  govern- 
ment —  His  murder  —  Pen  picture  of  the  great  statesman  —  Esti- 
mates of  his  services  -  Connection  of  Russia  with  his  downfall 
and  murder  —  His  faults  and  his  virtues. 

Stefan  Stamboloff,  who  for  eight  years  was  the 
practical  dictator  of  Bulgaria  and  who  carried  to  a 
successful  issue  the  long  and  bitter  struggle  that 
prevented  the  absorption  of  his  country  by  the  Rus- 
sian empire,  was  one  of  the  half  dozen  greatest 
European  statesmen  of  the  last  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  And  when  it  is  recalled  that  he  was 
murdered  at  the  early  age  of  forty-one  years,  the 
extraordinary  career  of  this  national  patriot  and 
statesman  is  little  less  than  marvellous.  *'  He  was 
a  man  who  saw  what  he  wanted  done,  and  did  it," 
remarks  Henry  Crust.  '*  He  rescued  an  old  coun- 
try, and  made  a  new  one.  And  he  was  destroyed  by 
the  very  lowest  and  most  monstrous  thoughts, 
w^ords,  and  deeds  of  which  human  nature  is  capa- 
ble." 

73 


74  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 


Stamboloff  was  born  at  Tirnovo  the  31st  of  Jan- 
uary (old  style),  1854.  He  attended  an  elementary 
school  lip  to  the  age  of  fourteen,  when  he  was  ap- 
prenticed to  a  tailor.  Later,  when  Shishmanoff,  a 
Bulgarian  scholar  who  had  studied  at  Paris,  opened 
a  commercial  school  at  Tirnovo,  Stamboloff  resumed 
his  studies.  The  pohtical  and  religious  agitation  in 
the  late  sixties  over  the  reestablishment  of  the  Bul- 
garian Orthodox  church  interested  him  keenly.  He 
decided  to  study  for  the  priestliood,  and  in  June, 
1870,  was  granted  a  scholarship  at  Odessa  that 
had  been  founded  by  the  emperor  of  Russia.  He 
spent  two  years  in  study  at  Odessa,  but  with  keener 
interest  in  the  nihilistic  teachings  of  his  fellow  stu- 
dents than  in  the  theological  doctrines  of  his  spiri- 
tual instructors.  Of  the  two  hundred  students  in 
the  seminary  at  Odessa,  he  tells  us,  there  were  cer- 
tainly not  more  than  thirty  or  forty  who  were  free 
from  the  taint  of  nihilism.  Not  only  Stamboloff 
but  all  the  Bulgarian  students  at  Odessa  and  else- 
where, ''  panting  for  freedom  and  intoxicated  with 
the  breadth  and  grandeur  of  the  new  ideas,  threw 
themselves  into  the  arms  of  the  Russian  nihilists." 

The  secret  police  of  Odessa  made  a  sudden  raid 
on  the  seminary  and  the  students  were  arrested  en 
hloc.  The  Bulgars,  as  Turkish  subjects,  were  given 
twenty-four  hours  in  which  to  leave  Russia.  Stam- 
boloff made  his  way  to  Tirnovo.  In  August,  1874, 
he  represented  his  native  town  at  a  general  revo- 
lutionary conference  held  at  Bucharest.  During  the 
following  year  he  shared  with  Christo  Boteff  the 
leadership  of  the  revolutionary  committee.     In  the 


STEFAN    STAMBOLOFF. 


I 


Stamboloff  vs.  Russian  Intrigues         75 

capacity  of  a  peddler  he  travelled  about  Bulgaria 
forining  revolutionary  committees.  He  organized 
and  managed  the  uprising  against  Turkey  at  Stara 
Zagora  in  1875 ;  joined  the  Russian  staff  in  the  war 
of  Servia  against  Turkey  in  1876 ;  and  served  with 
the  Bulgarian  irregulars  in  the  Russo-Turkish  war 
of  1877-78. 

After  the  liberation  of  Bulgaria  from  the  Turkish 
yoke,  Stamboloff  took  up  the  practice  of  law  at  Tir- 
novo.  He  was  elected  to  represent  his  native  city 
in  the  first  national  assembly  and  was  chosen  vice- 
president.  After  the  fall  of  the  Zankoff  ministry 
he  was  chosen  president  of  the  assembly  and  held 
this  post  during  two  critical  years.  It  was  entirely 
due  to  his  tact  and  energ)^  that  the  two  Bulgarias 
were  united  in  1885.  To  the  indecision  of  Prince 
Alexander  as  to  the  advisability  of  recognizing  the 
union  of  Eastern  Rumelia  with  the  principality  of 
Bulgaria,  Stamboloff  is  reported  to  have  said: 
"  Sire,  the  union  is  made  —  the  revolt  is  an  accom- 
plished fact  past  recall,  and  the  time  for  hesitation 
has  gone.  Two  roads  lie  before  Your  Highness  — 
the  one  to  Philippopolis  and  as  much  farther  as 
God  may  lead;  the  other  to  the  Danube  and  Darm- 
stadt. I  advise  you  to  take  the  crown  the  Bulgarian 
nation  offers  you."  The  prince  replied:  "  I  choose 
the  road  to  Philippo])olis,  and  if  God  loves  Bulgaria 
He  will  protect  me  and  her." 

With  characteristic  courage  and  promptitude  he 
restored  Prince  Alexander  to  his  tlirone  after  the 
notorious  conspiracy  tlie  21st  of  August,  1886.  He 
frustrated  the  conspiracy  of  General  Kaulbars,  men- 


76  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

tioned  in  a  previous  chapter;  quelled  a  military 
conspiracy  that  had  been  hatched  by  Russia  at  Si- 
listria  and  Rustchuk,  and  secured  the  election  of 
Prince  Ferdinand  to  the  Bulgarian  throne  against 
the  unscrupulous  opposition  of  Russia.  The  new 
prince  selected  him  as  prime  minister,  and  for  eight 
years  he  ruled  Bulgaria  with  an  iron  hand;  but 
he  accomplished  great  things  for  his  country. 

Without  doubt  Stamboloff's  greatest  service  to 
Bulgaria  was  the  preservation  of  its  independence 
against  the  powerful  and  insidious  influence  of  Rus- 
sia. After  the  treaty  of  Berlin,  the  Bulgars  were 
given  to  understand  that  the  primary  cause  of  the 
■\^ar  of  1877-78  was  not  the  liberation  of  their  coun- 
try against  the  oppressive  Ottoman  rule,  but  the 
establishment  of  a  Russian  advance  post  on  the  road 
to  Constantinople;  The  pretensions  of  the  Russians, 
that  the  liberation  of  the  principality  from  Turkey 
constituted  a  claim  to  eternal  gratitude  and  sub- 
mission, did  not  appeal  to  the  hard-headed  Bulgars, 
and  least  of  all  to  StambolofF  and  the  other  liberal 
statesmen  in  the  new  country.  The  Bulgars  have 
been  charged  with  ingratitude  towards  their  Rus- 
sian benefactors;  but  it  should  not  be  forgotten 
that  it  was  the  autocratic  and  brutal  policy  of  the 
Russian  officials  sent  to  Bulgaria  that  estranged  the 
people  and  aroused  the  opposition  of  the  patriots. 
It  was  the  thinly  veiled  intention  of  crushing  out 
the  national  idea  of  independence  and  the  policy  of 
brutal  interference  with  internal  affairs  that  alien- 
ated  the  affections  of  the  Bulgars  for  the  Russians. 
And  it  was  Stamboloff  who  saved  the  young  state 


Stamboloff  vs.  Russian  Intrigues         77 

from  the  menace  of  domination  by  Russia.  Under 
his  regime  Russia  had  no  representation  at  Sofia. 

He  kept  Prince  Ferdinand  on  his  throne  against 
the  active  opposition  of  Russia,  and  he  taught  his 
half-hearted  countrymen  to  believe  in  Bulgaria.  His 
brief  but  stirring  life  was  a  living  negation  of  the 
charge  of  the  Russophil  party  in  Bulgaria  that ''  we 
cannot  live  without  the  guidance  and  support  of 
Russia."  He  shamed  his  countrymen  out  of  the 
belief  in  this  treacherous  declaration.  He  estab- 
lished excellent  relations  with  European  powers  — 
Russia  excepted  —  and  best  of  all,  he  saw  the  great 
political  value  of  friendly  relations  with  Turkey 
and  Rumania. 

At  home,  as  Henry  Crust  has  remarked,  "  he 
planted  and  watered,  and  the  increase  came.  Trea- 
ties of  commerce,  railways,  education,  and  all  that 
we  call  civilization,  prospered  apace.  Europe  was 
more  than  friendly;  and  if  the  powers  failed  by 
convention  to  recognize  Ferdinand,  they  recognized 
Stamboloff,  and  they  recognized  Bulgaria."^ 

The  charge  has  been  made  that  the  despotic  rule 
of  Stamboloff  did  not  meet  the  approval  of  the  Bul- 
garian nation,  and  that  he  held  power  by  the  pres- 
sure which  the  liberal  party  used  at  the  polls.  For- 
eign students  who  knew  both  Stamboloff  and  the 
character  of  the  Bulgars  of  the  first  generation  of 
independence  pronounce  this  charge  false.  They 
assert  that  he  was  in  complete  s>Tnpathy  with  the 
Bulgarian  people;    that  he  shared  their  ideals  and 

'  Stamboloff.  By  Henry  Crust.  Eclectic  Magazine,  Oct.,  1895.  Vol. 
125,  pp.  563-569. 


78  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 


their  prejudices;  that  lie  was  simple  in  hia  tastes 
and  mode  of  life;  tliat  he  was  accessible  to  every- 
body, aMd  knew  how  to  speak  to  his  countrymen 
after  their  own  fashion.  '*  He  was  an  ideal  ruler 
of  a  half-civilized  community  of  small  peasant  farm- 
ers," remarks  an  English  writer. 

A  system  of  political  assassination,  which  resulted 
in  the  murder  of  two  of  his  ministers  and  the  nu- 
merous attempts  on  his  own  life,  forced  liim  to  bathe 
his  hands  in  blood  in  the  punishment  of  his  country- 
men who  had  been  tempted  by  the  intrigues  of  Rus- 
sia. One  of  the  victims  was  Olympi  Panoff,  an  old 
friend  and  one  of  the  heroes  of  Slivnitza ;  and  in 
the  enforcement  of  measures  for  the  maintenance 
of  order  in  the  country  and  keejnng  I^rince  Ferdi- 
nand on  his  throne  against  the  ill-will  of  Russia 
and  the  political  activity  of  tlie  Russophil  party  in 
Bulgaria,  the  closing  years  of  his  ministry  amounted 
to  little  less  than  a  reign  of  terror. 

He  punished  severely  the  brigands,  many  of  whom 
were  Panslavists  in  the  service  of  Russia  and  were 
members  of  the  Macedonian  revolutionary  bands. 
vSome  of  these  brigands  were  refugees  from  Turkish 
oppression.  Others  were  Bulgarians  who  could  not 
shut  their  eyes  and  repress  their  sympathies  for 
their  kinsmen  in  Macedonia.  It  was  the  conviction 
of  Stamboloff,  however,  that  a  revolution  in  Mace- 
donia would  give  Russia  an  opportunity  to  interfere 
with  no  disinterested  motive;  and  he  urged  that 
patience  and  friendly  relations  with  Turkey  would 
in  the  end  help  Macedonia  most.  Many  of  the  acts 
of  brigandage  were  directed  against  wealthy  for- 


Stamboloff  vs.  Russian  Intrigues         79 

eigiiers;  and  by  clearing  Bulgaria  of  brigands  lie 
certainly  won  the  approbation  of  foreign  countries, 
even  though  ho  incurred  the  enmity  of  the  Mace- 
donian brigands  and  their  revolutionary  friends. 

The  ultimate  downfall  of  Stamboloff  was  brought 
about  by  his  tension  with  the  prince,  his  severe  pun- 
ishment of  political  opponents,  whom  he  regarded  as 
the  tools  of  Russia,  and  the  growing  political  im- 
portance of  a  group  of  statesmen  with  strong  Rus- 
sophil  and  mild  clerical  ideals  and  aspirations.  This 
group  included  Gueslioff,  Madjaroff,  Velitchkoff, 
Daneff,  and  Bobtcheff  —  men  who  were  at  the  head 
of  affairs  in  Bulgaria  during  the  two  decades  that 
followed  the  fall  of  Stamboloff  and  the  close  of  the 
fatal  war  of  tiie  allies. 

Attention  has  been  called  to  the  fact  that  after 
his  marriage  and  the  birth  of  an  heir,  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand desired  the  recognition  of  the  legal  status  of 
his  election;  but  Stamboloff  felt  that  this  recogni- 
tion would  mean  disaffection  and  intrigue  against 
the  established  order  of  things  that  would  follow 
with  the  return  of  the  Russian  minister  and  the  Rus- 
sian consuls.  Non-recognition  by  the  powers  en- 
tailed constant  slights  and  rebuffs;  the  prince  felt, 
and  rightly,  that  his  desires  were  not  unreasonable. 
Stamboloff,  on  the  other  liand,  apprehended  that 
recognition  would  bring  calamity  to  Bulgaria.  There 
grew  up  in  consequence  a  divergence  of  policy  be- 
tween the  prince  and  his  prime  minister.  The  two 
men  became  incapable  of  understanding  each  other's 
point  of  view,  and  it  is  not  easy  for  foreigners  to 
disentangle  the  motives  of  their  quarrels.    That  the 


80  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 


prince  bad  long  cbafod  under  the  tutelage  of  his 
arrogant  and  pig-headed  minister,  and  that  the  lat- 
ter had  assumed  a  rough  and  insulting  tone  towards 
his  sovereign  are  facts  that  the  most  partisan  ad- 
mirers of  Stamboloff  admit;  but  they  argue  as  an 
extenuating  circumstance,  bis  great  ability,  courage, 
patriotism,  and  lasting  service  to  his  country  in 
thwarting  Russian  aggressions. 

The  incidents  attending  the  final  resignation  of 
Stamboloff  are  too  painful  to  recite  in  this  connec- 
tion ;  and  the  subsequent  venomous  attack  on  Prince 
Ferdinand,  published  as  an  interview  in  the  Frank- 
furter Zeitung,  was  unworthy  of  the  great  states- 
man who  for  eight  years  had  so  ably  steered  the 
unsteady  Bulgarian  ship  of  state  among  uncertain 
whirlpools  of  Russian  intrigue  into  reasonably 
smooth  waters.  Tn  making  this  attack  he  committed 
the  greatest  blunder  of  his  life.  His  English  biog- 
rapher remarks  in  this  connection:  **  Stamboloff, 
by  this  outburst,  committed  what  was  worse  than 
a  crime  —  a  mistake.  There  can  be  no  real  excuse 
made  for  it.  It  may  be  urged  that  he  was  smarting 
under  great  provocation,  as  he  doubtless  was,  but 
how  much  worthier  and  more  dignified  it  would 
have  been  to  show  himself  superior  to  such  petty 
revenge  by  silence." 

The  subsequent  persecution  of  Stamboloff  by  the 
party  that  came  into  power  after  his  fall  was  equally 
unworthy;  for,  in  spite  of  shameful  attempts  to 
pillory  the  sovereign  of  Bulgaria  in  a  foreign  news- 
paper, it  must  not  be  forgotten,  as  Mr.  Beaman 
very  properly  insists,  that  it  was  Stamboloff  who 


A    PEASANT    CITIZEN. 


Stamboloff  vs.  Russian  Intrigues         81 

had  consolidated  the  union  of  Eastern  Rumelia  with 
the  principality;  who  had  held  the  country  single- 
handed  against  the  kidnappers  of  Prince  Alexander ; 
had  ruled  Bulgaria  as  regent  in  the  teeth  of  Russia; 
had  driven  out  the  intriguing  Russian  commission- 
ers and  consuls;  had  brought  in  a  new  prince  and 
kept  him  on  his  throne  through  a  series  of  plots  and 
dangers  from  within  and  without;  had  reconciled 
the  church  and  the  state;  and  had  closely  drawn 
the  ties  between  Bulgaria  and  her  suzerain,  the 
sultan. 

Political  and  personal  enemies  were  not  satisfied 
with  his  downfall ;  they  clamoured  for  his  disgrace 
and  punishment;  and  the  responsible  government 
tacitly  sanctioned  a  cruel  and  unjust  persecution 
that  was  certain  to  be  attended  with  fatal  conse- 
quences, lie  was  not  only  subjected  to  indignities 
and  persecution;  his  property  was  confiscated,  and 
he  was  denied  a  passport  that  he  might  visit  Bo- 
hemia and  recuperate  his  shattered  health.  It  had 
repeatedly  been  asserted  in  government  circles  that 
so  long  as  Stamboloff  lived  the  desired  reconcilia- 
tion with  Russia  and  the  recognition  of  the  election 
of  Prince  Ferdinand  were  out  of  the  question.  He 
was  brutally  attacked  and  mutilated  the  evening  of 
the  15th  of  July,  1895,  and  died  three  days  later. 
To  the  lasting  shame  of  a  really  fine  people,  it  must 
be  recorded  that  the  Bulgarian  government  did  abso- 
lutely nothing  to  ferret  out  the  instigators  of  this 
appalling  crime  and  to  punish  tliem. 

Mr.  Beaman,  in  his  admirable  English  life  of 
Stamboloff,   gives    this   pen   picture    of   the   great 


82 Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

statesman:  "His  portrait  gives  some  idea  of  his 
face,  but  it  fails  entirely  to  reproduce  the  character 
of  the  mouth  and  eyes.  Looking  at  the  photograph, 
you  see  a  somewhat  heavy,  sleepy-looking  counte- 
nance, giving  no  indication  of  the  restless  energy 
and  indomitable  spirit  of  the  man.  In  repose  these 
arc  not  so  very  marked,  but  as  soon  as  he  touches 
upon  a  subject  of  interest,  Mr.  Stamboloff's  whole 
mien  changes.  The  heavy  brows  arch  or  contract, 
and  the  drooj^ing  lids  lift  under  the  searching  flash 
of  his  eyes,  w^hich  glow  like  live  coals.  The  thick  full 
lips  form  themselves  into  kindly  smiles  or  sarcastic 
twists  with  equal  facility,  and  now  and  again  they 
draw  back  into  a  grim  thinness  in  front  of  the  white 
teeth,  while  the  close  cropped  hair  bristles  and 
stands  stiff  over  the  massive  forehead.  In  stature 
he  is  sliort  and  thick-set,  and  in  spite  of  continued 
bad  health,  and  a  ceaseless  hacking  cough,  which 
scarcely  gives  him  a  moment's  respite,  he  holds 
himself  erect,  and  walks  with  a  firm,  decided  tread. 
Ilis  early  life  of  hardship  in  the  open-air  has  tough- 
ened his  frame,  and  his  fondness  for  outdoor  exer- 
cise, particularly  for  shooting,  has  probably  enabled 
him  to  withstand  the  attacks  of  insidious  diseases 
aggravated  by  the  intense  mental  strain  which  he 
has  undergone,"  ^ 

Mr.  Stoyan  K.  Vatralsky,  a  Bulgarian  publicist, 
after  the  murder  of  Stamboloff,  wrote  in  an 
American  review  concerning  his  great  countrjmaan : 
"  Built  after  the  pattern  and  of  the  stuff  of  which 

'  StmnholojJ.  (Public  Mfn  nf  To-day  Seriea).  By  A.  Hulme  Bea- 
raan.     London,  1S05,  pp.  210. 


Stamboloff  vs.  Russian  Intrigues         83 

■ 

nature  builds  greatness,  his  strength  and  his  weak- 
ness, his  virtues  and  his  vices,  were  alike  great. 
Judged  by  a  high  standard  of  Christian  civilization 
he  can  indeed  be  condemned ;  but  compared  with  his 
antagonists  he  appears  not  only  great,  but  noble 
and  upright.  True,  he  was  arbitrary  and  fierce, 
but  he  plotted  or  committed  nobody's  murder.  He 
had  traitors  shot  without  mercy,  but  only  after  they 
had  been  sentenced  in  an  open  court.  He  was  no 
coward.  He  struck  right  from  the  shoulder,  and 
stood  in  the  light  of  day  like  a  man ;  the  w^hole  world 
knew  where  he  stood  and  what  he  was  about.  The 
very  reverse  was  the  case  of  the  Russophiles  who 
opposed  him.  They  skulked  in  the  dark;  with  re- 
bellion in  favour  of  a  foreign  power,  fraud  and 
assassination  were  their  chief  weapons.  The  fiend- 
ish temper  of  Russophilism,  which  he  fought  and 
held  in  check  for  so  many  years,  is  now  well  known 
by  the  exhibition  it  made  of  itself  at  Stamboloff 's 
murder.  During  {he  hours  lie  was  writhing,  from 
the  fifteen  terrible  wounds  it  had  dealt  him,  Russo- 
philism broke  forth  with  exultant  rejoicing  over 
his  agony;  when  he  died,  it  insulted  his  remains, 
and  at  his  burial  it  danced  around  his  grave."  ^ 

Russia  has  never  forgiven  Bulgaria  for  the  inde- 
pendence which  she  permitted  Stamboloff  to  mani- 
fest during  the  years  that  he  directed  the  ship  of 
state.  She  was  able  to  sip  from  the  cup  of  revenge 
when  Bulgaria  was  dismembered  by  treacherous 
allies  during  the  second  Balkan  w^ar.     The  Nation, 

'  Study  of  a  Notable  Man:  Stawhnlnff.  Bv  Stoyan  K.  Vatralsky. 
Forum,  Nov.,  1895.    Vol.  20,  pp.  ;]17-;;:5;;. 


84  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

the  ably  edited,  and  certainly  the  best  informed 
English  weekly  journal  on  Balkan  questions,  said 
in  a  leader  in  its  issue  of  the  19tli  of  July,  1913: 
"  It  is  said  that  Bulgaria  began  this  shameful  and 
disastrous  war.  Technically,  that  is  true.  Morally, 
it  is  meanly  false.  The  war  was  begun  by  Servia 
and  Greece,  who,  as  far  back  as  May,  concluded 
between  themselves  a  treaty  of  alliance  against  Bul- 
garia, by  which  Servia  secured  Greek  help  for  the 
seizure  of  regions  which  only  a  year  before  she  had 
by  a  no  less  solemn  treaty  of  alliance  acknowledged 
as  Bulgarian. 

'^  The  Bulgar  armies  did,  indeed,  march  upon 
these  regions.  It  was  the  Servians  who  committed 
the  real  aggression  by  holding  them.  But  the  real 
reason  for  this  shameful  dismemberment  is  hardly 
concealed.  Bulgaria  has  become  too  strong.  Six 
months  ago  the  whole  of  Europe  was  lost  in  admira- 
tion for  the  victories,  more  wonderful  as  moral  than 
as  physical  achievements,  which  this  peasant  race 
was  enabled  to  win  by  the  self-discipline  and  labour 
of  one  generation  of  freedom.  To-day,  after  her 
first  misfortunes,  all  that  is  forgotten,  and  official 
persons  talk  solemnly  about  the  balance  of  power. 
The  jealousy  of  Servia,  Greece,  and  Rumania  is 
intelligible;  each  of  them  will  gain  directly  by  her 
dismemberment. 

"  But  the  real  author  of  this  concerted  crushing  of 
Bulgaria  is  Russia.  She  it  was  who  first  encouraged 
Servian  pretensions,  and  then  failed,  if,  indeed,  she 
sincerely  tried,  to  impose  her  mediation.  It  is  ad- 
mitted even  by  her  apologists  that  she  incited  the 


Stamboloff  vs.  Russian  Intrigues         85 

Rumanian  invasion,  and  thereby  tore  up  the  settle- 
ment which  she  herself  negotiated.  It  is  even  sus- 
pected that  she  has  prompted  the  Turkish  north- 
ward march,  meanly  backed  by  Bulgaria's  allies  in 
the  work  of  emancipation.  Bulgaria's  real  offence 
has  been  her  habit  of  independence,  her  refusal  to 
imitate  Servia  and  Montenegro  in  grovelling  defer- 
ence to  the  leading  Slav  power.  This  may  be  a  rea- 
son why  St.  Petersburg  should  crush  her." 

This  painful  chapter  —  the  most  painful  in  the 
whole  history  of  the  Bulgarian  people,  if  we  except 
the  fratricidal  war  of  1913  —  may  fittingly  close 
with  a  brief  quotation  from  the  pen  of  an  English 
publicist  who  knew  intimately  the  great  statesman 
and  the  period  of  his  country's  existence  when  he 
achieved  his  extraordinary  triumphs.  Mr.  Edward 
Dicey  writes:  **  In  judging  StambolofT's  life,  the 
western  critic  must  take  into  consideration  the  sur- 
roundings amongst  which  he  was  bred  and  lived. 
If  he  ruled  roughly,  it  was  a  rough  people  he  had 
to  deal  with.  He  was  a  j^oung  man,  in  almost  abso- 
lute power  over  a  young  nation.  At  the  age  when 
most  of  our  youths  are  wielding  the  oar  and  the 
cricket  bat,  he  was  a  leader  in  the  forlorn  struggle 
of  Bulgaria  against  Turkey.  Taught  in  the  hard 
school  of  want  and  adversity,  his  nature  was  rugged 
as  the  mountains  which  were  his  youthful  home  and 
refuge.  He  was  blamed,  when  in  power,  for  beha- 
ving with  unnecessary  rigour  towards  his  opponents; 
but  politics  in  Bulgaria  is  not  what  it  is  in  western 
Europe.  Political  passions  are  so  fierce  that  every 
party  looks  upon  the  other  as  an  actual  physical  foe, 


86  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

to  be  dealt  with  in  a  manner  to  crij^plc  it  and  disable 
it  for  ever.  In  Stamboloff  we  see  the  strong  man 
defending  his  house.  Amidst  plots  and  conspiracies, 
surrounded  by  uncertain  friends  and  open  enemies, 
he  was  often  obliged  to  strike  swiftly.  And  when! 
he  struck,  his  hand  was  undoubtedly  heavy."  ^ 

'  The  Slory  of  SlamboloJJ's  Fall.     By  Edward  Dicey.     Fortnightly 
Review,  September,  1895.     Vol.  64,  pp.  391-404. 


CHAPTER   Vm 

THE    BALKAN    LEAGUE 

Responsibility  for  Turkish  miflrule  in  Macedonia  —  Guidinp;  principle 
of  Ottoman  Btatecraft  — •  The  revolutionary  movement  and  its  con- 
eequences  —  Turkish  massacres  —  Attempts  of  Russia  and  Aus- 
tria to  inaugurate  reforms  —  The  Yoiing  Turk  party  —  Attempts 
to  Ottomanize  Macedonia  —  Why  the  Macedonians  revolted  against 
Turkish  rule  —  Pearly  attempts  to  form  a  Balkan  league  —  ^V^ly 
Stamboloff  rejected  the  overtures  of  the  Greeks  —  Venizelos  and 
the  Balkan  league  of  1912  —  Provisions  of  the  league  for  the  reform 
of  Mace<ionia  —  Bulgarian  conventions  with  Greece,  Servia,  and 
Montenegro. 

The  revision  of  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano  was 
the  direct  cause  of  the  Balkan  wars.  By  its  terms 
Macedonia  was  included  in  the  newly  constituted 
state  of  Bulgaria.  But  largely  because  of  the  jeal- 
ousy of  England  that  treaty  was  torn  up.  Disraeli, 
then  premier  of  England,  vigorously  opposed  the 
liberation  of  Macedonia  from  Turkish  oppression 
because  he  feared  that  a  great  Bulgaria  would 
strengthen  Russia's  power  in  the  Balkan  peninsula. 
The  treaty  of  Berlin  dismembered  Bulgaria  and 
gave  Macedonia  back  to  the  Turks.  "  In  the  dev- 
ilish ingenuity  with  which  the  powers  placed  every 
obstacle  in  the  path  of  racial  unity,"  remarks  Cyril 
Campbell,  ''  with  which  they  traded  on  interstate 
jealousy  and  played  off  people  against  people,  can 
be  traced  the  cause  of  the  sullen  animosity  so  appar- 

87 


88  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

ent  in  the  long  discord  of  the  next  three  decades,  and 
for  this  the  treaty  of  Berlin  must  be  held  respon- 
sible."^ 

The  reforms  promised  to  the  Macedonians  by  the 
treaty  of  Berlin  never  materialized.  Turkey  devised 
a  cunning  system  of  decentralization  that  prevented 
the  growth  of  locnl  opinion  and  checked  the  develop- 
ment of  ethnic  consciousness.  The  guiding  principal 
of  Ottoman  statecraft  was  the  application  of  the 
divide  et  impera  rule,  which  played  off  the  Mace- 
donian races  against  each  other.  Throughout  the 
reign  of  Abdul-Hamid  (1876-1909)  the  use  of  the 
word  Macedonia  was  forbidden.  The  province  was 
divided  into  three  administrative  districts  or  vila- 
yets —  Monastir,  Uskub,  and  Salonika  —  which  cor- 
responded to  no  natural  division  either  racial  or 
geographic.  More  than  half  the  people  in  the  three 
vilayets  were  Bulgars,  a  fifth  were  Turks,  and  the 
remainder  were  Greeks,  Servians,  Vlacks,  Albani- 
ans, Jews,  and  gypsies;  but  the  boundaries  of  the 
\41ayets  were  so  drawn  that  no  one  race  might  attain 
undue  prominence.  The  Bulgarians  were  strong  in 
all  three  vilayets;  there  were  vServians  and  Albani- 
ans in  Uskub ;  and  the  Greeks  were  well  represented 
in  Salonika. 

Any  display  of  national  aspirations  on  the  part 
of  any  one  of  these  races  was  punished  by  perse- 
cution and  massacre,  while  special  favours  were 
bestowed  upon  its  rivals.  Thus,  the  Bulgarians 
were  favoured  by  the  creation  of  several  new  bish- 

>  The  Balkan  War  Drmna.  By  Cyril  Campbell.  New  York,  1913, 
VP.  206. 


The  Balkan  League  89 

oprics  in  Macedonia  as  a  punishment  to  the  Greeks 
for  the  war  of  1897.  But  when  the  Bulgarians  of 
Macedonia  rose  in  rebellion  against  misrule  in  1903, 
the  Greeks,  the  Serbs,  and  the  Vlacks  were  over- 
whelmed with  official  favours.  "  In  this  way,"  notes 
Cyril  Campbell,  ' '  the  first  impulse  was  given  to  the 
Greek  campaign  of  proselytism  and  terrorism  in  the 
vilayets  of  Monastir,  Kossovo,  Salonika,  and  Adri- 
anople,  which  must  remain  as  an  indelible  disgrace 
in  Greek  history,  and  which  to  the  lasting  dishon- 
our was  aided  and  abetted  or  at  least  allowed  to  con- 
tinue by  Ottoman  officials." 

The  Greeks  were  active  and  hostile,  and  in  their 
warfare  against  the  Bulgarians  they  used  their 
familiar  weapons  —  treachery  aud  bribery.  Inter- 
nal conflicts  followed;  and,  as  the  recent  Carnegie 
commission  well  states,  *'  from  this  time  there  was 
no  more  security  in  Macedonia.  Each  of  the  rival 
nations  —  Bulgarian,  Greek,  Servian  —  counted  its 
heroes  and  its  victims,  its  captains  and  its  recruits, 
in  this  national  guerilla  warfare,  and  the  result  for 
each  was  a  long  martyrology.  By  the  beginning  of 
1904  the  number  of  political  assassinations  in  Mace- 
donia had,  according  to  the  English  Blue  Book, 
reached  an  average  of  one  hundred  per  month.  The 
Bulgarians  naturally  were  the  strongest,  their  bands 
the  most  numerous,  their  wliole  militant  organiza- 
tion possessing  the  most  extensive  roots  in  tlie  pop- 
ulation of  the  country.  The  government  of  the  Bul- 
garian principality  had  presided  at  the  origination 
of  the  Macedonian  moveuK^nt  in  the  time  of  Stefan 
Stamboloff.     There  was,  however,  always  a  diver- 


90  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 


geiice  between  the  views  of  official  Bulgaria,  which 
sought  to  use  the  movement  as  an  instrument  in  its 
foreign  policy,  and  those  of  the  revolutionaries 
proper,  most  of  them  young  people  enamoured  of 
independence  and  filled  with  a  kind  of  cosmopolitan 
idealism. 

"  The  revolutionary  movement  in  Macedonia  has 
frequently  been  represented  as  a  product  of  Bul- 
garian ambition  and  the  Bulgarian  government  held 
directly  responsible  for  it.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  how- 
ever, the  hands  of  the  government  were  always 
forced  by  the  Macedonians,  who  relied  on  public 
opinion,  violently  excited  by  the  press,  and  the  direct 
propaganda  of  the  leaders.  There  certainly  was  a 
'  Central  Committee  '  at  Sofia,  whose  president  was 
generally  some  one  who  enjoyed  the  confidence 
of  the  prince.  This  committee,  however,  served 
chiefly  as  the  representative  of  the  movement  in  the 
eyes  of  the  foreigner;  in  the  eyes  of  the  real  lead- 
ers it  was  alwaj's  suspected  of  too  great  eagerness 
to  serve  the  dynastic  ambitions  of  King  Ferdinand. 
It  was  in  Macedonia  that  the  real  revolutionary 
organization,  uncompromising  and  jealous  of  its  in- 
dependence, was  to  be  found.  For  the  origin  of 
this  internal  organization  we  must  go  back  to  1893, 
when,  in  the  little  village  of  Resna,  a  small  group 
of  young  Bulgarian  intellectuals  founded  a  secret 
society  with  the  clearly  expressed  intention  of  *  pre- 
paring the  Christian  population  for  armed  struggle 
against  the  Turkish  regime  in  order  to  win  personal 
security  and  guarantees  for  order  and  justice  in 
the  administration,*  which  may  be  translated  as  the 


The  Balkan  League  91 

political  autonomy  of  Macedonia.  The  *  internal 
organization  '  did  not  aim  at  the  annexation  of 
Macedonia  to  Bulgaria;  it  called  all  nationalities 
dwelling  in  the  three  vilayets  to  join  its  ranks.  No 
confidence  was  felt  in  Europe;  hope  was  set  on 
energetic  action  by  the  people.  To  procure  arms, 
distribute  them  to  the  young  people  in  the  villages, 
and  drill  the  latter  in  musketry  and  military  evo-. 
lutions  —  such  were  the  first  endeavours  of  the  con- 
spirators. All  this  was  not  long  in  coming  to  the 
notice  of  the  Turks,  who  came  by  accident  upon  a 
depot  of  arms  and  bombs  at  Vinnitsa.  This  dis- 
covery gave  the  signal  for  Turkish  acts  of  repres- 
sion and  atrocities  which  counted  more  than  two 
hundred  victims.  From  that  time  on,  there  was  no 
further  halt  in  the  struggle  in  Macedonia.  The  peo- 
ple, far  from  being  discouraged  by  torture  and  mas- 
sacre, became  more  and  more  keenly  interested  in 
the  organization.  In  a  few  years  the  country  was 
ready  for  the  struggle.  The  whole  country  had  been 
divided  into  military  districts,  each  with  its  cap- 
tain and  militia  staff.  The  central  *  organization,' 
gathering  force  '  everywhere  and  nowhere  '  liad  all 
the  regular  machinery  of  a  revolutionary  organiza- 
tion; an  'executive  police,'  a  postal  service,  and 
even  an  espionage  service  to  meet  the  blows  of  the 
enemy  and  punish  '  traitors  and  spies.'  Through- 
out this  period  of  full  expansion,  the  peoi)le  turned 
voluntarily  to  the  leaders,  even  in  the  settlement  of 
their  private  affairs,  instead  of  going  before  the 
Ottoman  officials  and  judges,  and  gladly  paid  their 
contributions  to  the  revolutionarv  bodv.     Self-confi- 


92  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

dence  grew  to  such  a  point  that  offensive  action 
began  to  be  taken.  The  agricultural  labourers  tried 
striking  against  their  Turkish  masters  for  a  rise  in 
wages,  to  bring  them  up  to  the  minimum  laid  down 
by  the  leaders  of  the  *  organization.'  They  grew 
bolder  in  risking  open  skirmishes  with  the  Turkish 
troops ;  and  the  official  report  of  the  '  organiza- 
tion '  records  that  as  many  as  132  (512  victims) 
took  place  in  the  period  1898-1902.  At  last  Euro- 
pean diplomacy  stirred.  The  first  scheme  of  re- 
forms appeared,  formulated  by  Russia  and  Austria 
in  virtue  of  their  entente  of  1897.  The  Austro-Rus- 
sian  note,  of  February,  1903,  formulated  demands 
too  modest  to  be  capable  of  solving  the  problem. 
The  result  was  as  usual;  the  Porte  hastened  to 
prevent  European  action  by  promising  in  January 
to  inaugurate  reforms.  The  Macedonian  revolution- 
aries were  in  despair.  A  little  group  of  extremists 
detached  itself  from  the  Committee  to  attempt  vio- 
lent measures  such  as  might  stir  Europe;  in  June 
bombs  were  thrown  at  Salonika.  On  July  20  (old 
style),  the  day  of  St.  Elie  (Ilinjah-den),  a  formal 
insurrection  broke  out:  the  rayas  saw  that  they 
were  strong  enough  to  measure  themselves  against 
their  old  oppressors. 

"  It  was  the  climax  of  the  '  internal  organization  ' 
and  that  of  its  fall.  The  heroism  of  the  rebels  broke 
itself  against  the  superior  force  of  the  regular  army. 
The  fighting  ratio  was  1  to  13,  26,000  to  351,000; 
there  were  a  thousand  deaths  and,  in  the  final 
result,  200  villages  ruined  by  Turkish  vengeance, 
12,000     houses     burned,     3,000     women     outraged, 


The  Balkan  League  93 

4,700  inhabitants  slain  and  71,000  without  a 
roof.'" 

The  Macedonian  uprising  and  the  barbarities  and 
tortures  that  followed  reminded  Europe  of  the 
promises  made  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
before  by  the  treaty  of  Berlin ;  and  the  great  pow- 
ers, however  reluctantly,  were  compelled  to  inter- 
vene. England  took  the  initiative  and  through  Lord 
Lansdowne  proposed  the  following  reforms:  (1) 
The  nomination  of  a  Christian  governor  for  Mace- 
donia; (2)  the  nomination  of  European  officers  to 
reform  the  gendarmerie;  (3)  withdrawal  of  all 
bashi-bozouks  from  Macedonia;  (4)  each  of  the 
great  powers  to  send  six  officers  to  accompany  the 
Ottoman  troops  and  thus  exercise  a  restraining  in- 
fluence and  secure  reliable  information,  and  (5)  the 
distribution  of  relief. 

Two  selfish  and  interested  members  of  the  con- 
cert—  Russia  and  Austria  —  were  invested  with 
power  to  devise  and  supervise  reform  measures  in 
Macedonia.  Their  schemes  were  half-hearted  and 
their  reforms  remained  a  dead  letter.  The  great 
powers,  largely  from  financial  motives,  were  un- 
willing to  put  any  pressure  on  Turkey,  because  no 
individual  member  of  the  concert  was  willing  to 
prejudice  its  own  interests  or  jeopardize  future 
concessions  by  taking  the  initiative  in  the  matter 
of  Macedonian  reform.  The  matter  dragged  on 
until  the  insurrection  of  the  Young  Turks  in  1908. 


'  Report  of  the  Inlematinnal  Commission  (o  Inquire  into  the  Causes 
and  BJ^ects  of  the  Balkan  Wars.  PubliBhed  by  the  CarncRir:  Endow- 
ment for  International  peace.    Washington,  D.  C.,  1914. 


94  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

The  overthrow  of  the  autocratic  rule  of  Abdul- 
Hamid  was  hailed  by  the  {jowcrs  as  the  rainbow 
of  promise  of  Turkey's  regeneration  and  the  solu- 
tion of  the  Macedonian  question.  In  the  final  over- 
throw of  the  sultan  in  April,  1909,  and  the  revival 
of  the  Turkish  constitution,  which  had  been  *'  sus- 
pended "  since  the  days  of  Midhat,  races  yesterday 
on  terms  of  irreconcilable  hostility,  embraced  one 
another  as  brothers.  The  Young  Turks  announced 
that  they  would  entirely  reconstruct  the  Ottoman 
empire.  They  promised  the  Macedonians  to  solve 
all  difficulties  and  to  pacify  all  hatreds;  to  substi- 
tute justice  for  arbitrarj^  rule;  and  to  ensure  com- 
plete equality  among  the  different  races.  The  Mace- 
donian revolutionists  laid  down  their  arms  and  re- 
turned from  their  hiding-places  in  the  Rilo  and 
Rhodope  mountains  to  the  towns. 

The  dream  of  the  Macedonians,  that  they  could 
become  good  Ottoman  patriots  while  still  faithful 
to  their  national  ambitions,  was  soon  shattered. 
Far  from  satisfying  the  reawakened  nationalism  of 
the  various  races  in  Macedonia,  remarks  the  report 
of  the  Carnegie  commission,  "  the  Young  Turks  set 
themselves  a  task  to  which  the  absolutism  of  the 
sultan  had  never  ventured :  to  reconstruct  the  Tur- 
key of  the  Caliphate  and  transform  it  into  a  modern 
state,  beginning  by  the  complete  abolition  of  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  different  ethnic  groups. 
These  rights  and  privileges,  confirmed  by  firmans 
and  guaranteed  by  European  diplomacy,  were  the 
sole  means  by  which  the  Christian  nationalities 
could  safeguard  their  language,  their  beliefs,  their 


The  Balkan  League  95 

ancient  civilizations.  These  barriers  once  down, 
they  felt  themselves  threatened  by  Ottoman  assimi- 
lation in  a  way  that  had  never  been  threatened  be- 
fore in  the  course  of  the  ages  since  the  capture  of 
Constantinople  by  Mahomet  11.  This  assimila- 
tion, this  '  Ottomanization,  *  was  the  avowed  aim 
of  the  victor,  the  committee  of  '  Union  and  Prog- 
ress.' 

"  Worse  still:  the  assimilation  of  heterogeneous 
populations  could  only  be  effected  slowly,  however 
violent  might  be  the  measures  threatening  the  future 
existence  of  the  separate  nationalities.  The  men  of 
the  Committee  had  not  even  confidence  in  the  action 
of  time.  They  wished  to  destroy  their  enemies 
forthwith,  while  they  were  still  in  power.  Since 
national  rivalries  in  Macedonia  offered  an  ever- 
ready  pretext  for  the  intervention  of  the  powers, 
they  decided  to  make  an  end  of  the  question  with 
all  possible  celerity.  They  were  sure  —  and  fre- 
quently stated  their  assurance  in  the  chamber  — 
that  the  ancien  regime  was  to  blame  for  the  power- 
lessness  it  had  shown  in  Macedonia.  They,  on  the 
other  hand,  with  their  new  methods,  would  have 
made  an  end  of  it  in  a  few  months,  or  at  most  a 
few  years. 

"  Nevertheless  it  was  the  old  methods  tliat  were 
employed.  A  beginning  was  made  in  1909  by  vio- 
lating the  article  of  the  constitution  which  pro- 
claimed the  liberty  of  associations.  The  various 
ethnic  groups,  and  especially  the  Bulgarians,  had 
taken  advantage  of  this  article  to  found  national 
clubs  in  Macedonia.     As  the  1908  pre-revolutionary 


96  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 


organizations  had  been  dissolved  by  their  heads,  in 
their  capacity  of  loyal  Ottoman  citizens,  they  had 
been  replaced  by  clubs  which  had  served  as  the 
nucleus  of  an  open  national  organization.  Their 
objective  was  now  electoral  instead  of  armed  con- 
flict; and  while  secretly  arming  there  was  neverthe- 
less a  readiness  to  trust  the  Ottoman  parliament, 
to  leave  it  to  time  to  accomplish  the  task  of  regen- 
eration and  actual  realization  of  constitutional  prin- 
ciples. The  Bulgarian  revolutionaries  had  even  con- 
cluded a  formal  agreement  with  the  revolutionaries 
of  the  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress,  according 
to  which  the  return  home  of  the  insurgents  was  re- 
garded as  conditional  only,  and  the  internal  organi- 
zation only  to  be  disbanded  on  condition  that  the 
constitution  was  really  put  in  force. 

**  The  committee  once  in  power  saw  the  danger  of 
these  national  political  organizations  and  entered 
on  a  systematic  conflict  ^\ath  its  allies  of  yesterday. 
From  the  spring  of  1909  onwards,  the  partisans  of 
the  Committee  caused  the  assassination  one  after 
another  of  all  those  who  had  been  at  the  head  of 
revolutionary  bands  or  committees  under  the  pre- 
vious regime.  In  the  autumn  of  1909  the  final  blow 
was  aimed  at  the  open  organizations.  (The  Union 
of  Bulgarian  constitutional  clubs  included  at  that 
moment  sixty-seven  branches  in  Macedonia.)  In 
November,  the  chamber  passed  an  Association  law 
which  forbade  '  any  organization  based  upon  na- 
tional denomination.'  An  end  was  thus  success- 
fully put  to  the  legal  existence  of  the  clubs,  but  not 
to    the   clubs    themselves.      Revolutionary    activity 


The  Balkan  League  97 

began  again  from  the  moment  when  open  legal  con- 
flict became  impossible. 

"  The  Christian  populations  had  good  reasons  for 
revolting  against  the  new  Turkish  regime.  Articles 
11  and  10  of  the  revised  constitution  infringed  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  religious  communities 
and  national  schools.  The  Ottoman  state  claimed 
to  extend  the  limits  of  its  action  under  the  pretext 
of  '  protecting  the  exercise  of  all  forms  of  wor- 
ship '  and  '  watching  over  all  public  schools.'  The 
principles  might  appear  modern  but  in  practice  they 
were  but  new  means  for  arriving  at  the  same  end  — 
the  '  Ottomanization  '  of  the  empire.  This  policy 
aimed  at  both  Greeks  and  Bulgarians.  For  the 
Greeks,  the  violent  enemies  of  the  Young  Turkish 
movement  from  its  beginning,  it  was  the  economic 
boycott  declared  by  the  Committee  against  all  the 
Greeks  of  the  empire  in  retaliation  for  the  attempts 
of  the  Cretans  to  reunite  themselves  with  the 
mother-country.  It  was  forbidden  for  months  that 
the  good  Ottomans  should  frequent  shops  or  cafes 
kept  by  Greeks.  Greek  ships  stopped  coming  into 
Ottoman  ports,  unable  to  find  any  labourers  to  han- 
dle their  cargo. 

"  Even  more  dangerous  was  the  policy  of  Turki- 
zing  Macedonia  by  means  of  systematic  colonization, 
carried  out  by  the  mohadjirs  —  emigrants,  Mos- 
lems from  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina.  This  measure 
caused  discontent  with  the  new  regime  to  penetrate 
down  to  the  agricultural  classes.  They  were  almost 
universally  Bulgarian  tenant-farmers  who  had  cul- 
tivated the  tchifliks   (farms)   of  the  Turkish  beys 


98  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

from  time  immemorial.  In  the  course  of  the  last 
few  years  they  had  begun  to  buy  back  the  lands  of 
their  overlords,  mainly  with  the  money  many  of 
them  brought  home  from  America.  All  this  was 
now  at  an  end.  Not  only  had  the  purchase  of  their 
holdings  become  impossible;  the  Turks  began  turn- 
ing the  tenants  out  of  their  farms.  The  government 
bought  up  all  the  land  for  sale  to  establish  mohadjirs 
(Moslem  refugees  from  Bosnia)  upon  it. 

**  This  was  the  final  stroke.  The  leaders  of  the 
disarmed  bands  could  now  return  to  their  mountains, 
where  they  rejoined  old  companions  in  arms.  The 
*  internal  organization  '  again  took  up  the  direc- 
tion of  the  revolutionary  movement.  On  October  31, 
1911,  it  '  declared  publicly  that  it  assumed  respon- 
sibility for  all  the  attacks  on  and  encounters  with 
the  Turkish  army  by  the  insurgents  in  this  and  the 
previous  year,  and  for  all  other  revolutionary  mani- 
festations.' The  Young  Turkish  government  had 
not  waited  for  this  declaration  to  gain  cognizance 
of  revolutionary  activity  and  take  action  upon  it. 
So  early  as  November,  1909,  it  had  replied  by  an 
iniquitous  '  band  '  law,  making  the  regular  author- 
ities of  the  villages,  all  the  families  where  any  mem- 
ber disappeared  from  his  home,  the  whole  popula- 
tion of  any  village  harbouring  a  komitadji,  respon- 
sible for  all  the  deeds  and  words  of  the  voluntary, 
irregular  associations.  In  the  summer  of  1910  a 
systematic  perquisition  was  instituted  in  Macedonia 
with  the  object  of  discovering  arms  hidden  in  the 
villagers'  houses.  The  vexations,  the  tortures  to 
which  peaceful  populations  were  thus  subjected,  can- 


The  Balkan  League  99 

not  possibly  be  enumerated  here.  In  November, 
1910,  Mr.  PavlofF,  Bulgarian  deputy,  laid  the  facts 
before  the  Ottoman  parliament.  He  had  counted  as 
many  as  1,853  persons  individually  subjected  to 
assault  and  ill  treatment  in  the  three  Macedonian 
vilayets,  leaving  out  of  account  the  cases  of  persons 
executed  en  masse,  arrested  and  assaulted,  among 
whom  were  dozens  killed  or  mutilated.  Adding  them 
in,  Mr.  Pavloff  brought  his  total  up  to  4,913.  To 
this  number  were  still  to  be  added  4,060  who  had 
taken  refuge  in  Bulgaria  or  fled  among  the  moun- 
tains to  escape  from  the  Turkish  authorities. 

"  The  year  1910  was  decisive  in  the  sense  of  af- 
fording definite  proof  that  the  regime  established 
in  1908  was  not  tolerable.  The  regime  had  its  chance 
of  justifying  itself  in  the  eyes  of  Pjurope  and 
strengthening  its  position  in  relation  to  its  own 
subjects  and  to  the  neighbouring  Balkan  states;  it 
let  the  chance  go.  From  that  time  the  fate  of  Tur- 
key in  Europe  was  decided  beyond  appeal. 

*'  This  was  also  the  end  of  the  attempts  at  au- 
tonomy in  Macedonia.  To  realize  this  autonomy  two 
principal  conditions  were  required:  the  indivisibil- 
ity of  Turkey  and  a  sincere  desire  on  the  part  of 
the  Turkish  government  to  introduce  radical  re- 
forms based  on  decentralization.  No  idea  was  less 
acceptable  to  the  '  Committee  of  Union  and  Prog- 
ress *  than  this  of  decentralization,  since  it  was  the 
watchword  of  the  rival  political  organization. 
Thenceforward  any  hope  of  improving  the  condition 
of  the  Christian  populations  within  the  limits  of  the 
status  quo  became  illusory.    Those  limits  had  to  be 


100  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

transcended.  Autonomy  was  no  longer  possible. 
Dismemberment  and  partition  had  to  be  faced." 

The  idea  of  a  Balkan  league  to  drive  the  Turks 
out  of  Europe  and  divide  the  Ottoman  possessions 
among  the  victors  was  suggested  to  Bulgaria  by 
Trikoupis,  prime  minister  of  Greece,  in  1893.  But 
Stamboloff  declined  to  become  a  party  to  such  an 
alliance.  He  recognized  that  the  raw  and  untrained 
peasant  levies,  which  were  all  that  the  Balkan  states 
would  be  able  at  the  time  to  muster,  would  be  no 
match  for  the  trained  soldiers  of  Turkey.  He  like- 
wise recognized  that  Bulgaria,  as  the  nearest  bel- 
ligerent, would  have  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  con- 
flict. The  Ottomanizing  policy  of  the  Young  Turks 
already  referred  to  finally  brought  the  Bulgarian 
and  the  Greek  to  an  understanding. 

Venizelos,  prime  minister  of  Greece,  proposed  to 
Malinoff,  the  prime  minister  of  Bulgaria,  in  1910, 
that  the  two  governments  should  cooperate  and 
bring  pressure  to  bear  on  the  Turkish  government. 
But  no  agreement  was  reached,  because  of  differ- 
ences with  reference  to  the  delimination  of  spheres 
of  influence.  The  Bulgars  were  unwilling  to  hand 
over  Kavala,  Seres,  Voden,  Kastoria,  and  Lerin  to 
the  Greeks.  After  the  fall  of  the  Malinoff  cabinet 
and  the  appointment  of  a  Russophil  ministry  under 
Gueshoff,  pourparlers  between  the  responsible  heads 
of  the  Bulgarian  and  the  Greek  governments  on  the 
question  of  a  defensive  alliance  were  resumed.  A 
treaty  between  the  two  countries  was  signed  at  Sofia 
the  29th  of  May,  1912.  Peace  was  declared  to  be 
the  object  of  the  alliance;   but  the  document  states 


EX-PRIME    MI.NISTKR    GUESHOf'F. 


The  Balkan  League  101 

that  this  object  can  be  best  attained  by  a  defensive 
alliance,  by  the  creation  of  political  equality  among 
the  different  nationalities  in  Turkey,  and  by  the 
careful  observation  of  treaty  rights.  To  this  end 
the  contracting  parties  agreed  to  cooperate  to  pro- 
mote correct  relations  with  the  Ottoman  government 
and  to  consolidate  the  good  will  already  existing 
between  Bulgarians  and  Greeks  in  Turkey.  It  was 
furthermore  agreed  that  if  either  was  attacked  by 
Turkey,  they  woidd  aid  each  other  with  their  entire 
forces,  and  conclude  peace  only  by  reciprocal  agree- 
ment. Both  states  were  to  use  their  influence  to 
reconcile  animosities  with  kindred  populations  in 
Macedonia,  and  to  offer  reciprocal  assistance  that 
they  might  conjointly  impress  on  Turkey  and  the 
great  powers  the  importance  of  the  performance 
of  treaty  obligations.  The  treaty  w^s  to  run  three 
years,  and  for  a  fourth  unless  denounced  six  months 
in  advance,  and  was  to  be  kept  absolutely  secret 
between  the  two  contracting  parties.  * 

Bulgaria  had  already  (the  13th  of  March,  1912) 
concluded  a  treaty  with  Servia.  The  fundamental 
point  of  the  treaty  was  '*  the  delimitation  of  the  line 
of  partition  *  beyond  which  '  Servia  agreed  '  to  for- 
mulate no  territorial  claim.'  A  highly  detailed  map 
of  this  frontier  was  annexed  to  the  treaty.  Bul- 
garian diplomatists  still  wished  to  keep  an  open  door 
for  themselves.  That  is  why  they  left  the  respon- 
sibility for  the  concessions  demanded  to  the  tsar  of 


•  For  an  interesting  account  of  the  Balkan  league,  see"  the  series  of 
articles  by  J.  D.  Hourchier  in  the  Ijondon  Times  for  June  4th,  5th,  Gth, 
nth,  and  13th,  1913. 


102 Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Russia.  '  Bulgaria  agrees  to  accept  tliis  frontier,' 
they  added,  '  if  the  emperor  of  Russia,  who  shall 
be  requested  to  act  as  final  arbiter  in  this  question, 
pronounces  in  favour  of  the  line.*  Their  idea  was 
that  the  emperor  might  still  adjudge  to  them  the 
'  disputed  zone  '  they  were  in  the  act  of  ceding,  be- 
tween the  frontier  marked  on  the  map  and  Old 
Ser\da,  properly  so-called,  '  to  the  north  and  west 
of  Shar-Planina.'  '  It  goes  without  saying,'  the 
treaty  added,  *  that  the  two  contracting  parties  un- 
dertake to  accept  as  definitive  the  frontier  line  which 
the  emperor  of  Russia  may  have  found,  within  the 
limits  indicated  below,  most  consonant  with  the 
rights  and  interests  of  the  two  parties.'  Evidently 
'  within  the  limits  indicated  below  '  meant  between 
Shar-Planina  and  the  line  marked  on  the  map,  '  be- 
yond which  Servia  agreed  to  formulate  no  territorial 
claim.'  That  was  the  straightforward  meaning  of 
the  treaty,  afterwards  contested  by  the  Servians. 
The  line  of  partition  of  which  the  treaty  spoke  cor- 
responded fully  with  the  ethnographic  conclusions 
of  the  learned  geographer,  Mr.  Tsviyitch;  conclu- 
sions which  made  a  profound  impression  on  the 
Tsar  Ferdinand  at  the  time  of  his  interview  with 
Mr.  Tsviyitch.  It  was  these  conclusions  probably 
which  made  the  tsar  decide  to  accept  the  compro- 
mise. Mr.  Tsviyitch  was  also  the  first  to  communi- 
cate to  the  world,  in  his  article  of  November,  1912, 
in  the  Review  of  Reviews,  the  frontier  established 
by  the  treaty.  The  reason  why  Bulgarian  diploma- 
tists decided  on  making  a  concession  so  little  accep- 
table to  public  opinion  is  now  clear.    They  did  more. 


The  Balkan  League  103 

After  deciding  on  eventual  partition  they  reverted 
to  the  idea  of  autonomy  and  laid  it  down  that  par- 
tition was  only  to  take  place  in  case  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  conquered  countries  '  as  a  distinct  au- 
tonomous province,'  should  be  found  '  impossible  * 
in  the  '  established  conviction  '  of  both  parties.  Up 
to  the  '  liquidation,'  the  occupied  countries  were  to 
be  regarded  as  *  falling  under  common  dominion  — 
condominium.*  Finally  the  treaty  was  to  remain 
defensive  purely,  until  the  two  parties  '  find  them- 
selves in  agreement  '  on  *  undertaking  common  mili- 
tary action.'  This  '  action  '  was  to  '  be  undertaken 
solely  in  the  event  of  Russia's  not  opposing  it,'  and 
the  consent  of  Russia  was  to  be  obligatory.  Turkey 
had  been  expressly  designated  as  the  objective  of 
'  action  '  in  the  cases  forecast,  but  included  was 
*  any  one  among  the  Great  Powers  which  should 
attempt  to  annex  *  *  *  any  portion  whatsoever  of 
the  territories  of  the  peninsula.'  Such  were  the 
precautions  and  provisions  designed  to  guarantee 
Bulgarian  diplomatists  against  abuse.  All,  how- 
ever, were  to  fall  away  at  the  first  breath  of  real- 
ity. 

**  The  Bulgarian  military  convention,  foreshad- 
owed by  the  treaty,  was  signed  as  early  as  May  12. 
Bulgaria  undertook  in  case  of  war  to  mobilize  200,- 
000  men;  Servia  150,000  —  minimum  figures,  since 
there  could  be  no  thought  of  conquering  Turkey  with 
an  army  of  350,000  men.  Of  these  200,000  men,  Bul- 
garia was  to  dispatch  half  to  Macedonia,  and  half 
to  Thrace.  At  the  same  time  the  convention  took 
into  account  the  possibility  of  Austria-Hungary's 


104  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

marching  upon  Servia,  In  that  case  Bulgaria  un- 
dertook to  send  200,000  men  to  Servia 's  assistance. 
"  The  basis  of  the  Graeco-Bulgarian  military  con- 
vention was  different;  it  was  concluded  almost  on 
the  eve  of  general  mobilization,  October  5.  Bul- 
garia promised,  in  case  of  war,  an  effective  army 
360,000  strong;  Greece,  120,000.  Bulgaria  under- 
took to  take  the  offensive  '  with  an  important  part 
of  its  army  '  in  the  three  Macedonian  vilayets ;  but 
in  case  Servia  should  take  part  in  the  war  with  at 
least  120,000  men,  *  Bulgaria  might  employ  the 
whole  of  its  military  forces  in  Thrace.'  Now  that 
real  war  was  about  to  begin  and  the  main  Turkish 
force  was  directed  hither,  it  was  high  time  to  con- 
template war  in  Thrace,  which  had  been  left,  in  the 
hypothetical  agreements,  to  Russia's  charge,  as  Mr. 
Bourchier  assumes.  This  made  it  necessary  to 
change,  define  and  complete  the  militai'y  agreement 
with  Servia  of  May  12.  The  document  was  now 
more  than  once  remodelled  in  consonance  with  new 
agreements  arrived  at  between  the  heads  of  the  gen- 
eral staff  of  the  two  armies  —  such  agreements  hav- 
ing been  foreshadowed  in  Articles  4  and  13.  The 
special  arrangements  of  July  1  provides  that  the 
necessary  number  of  troops  agreed  upon  might  be 
transported  from  the  Vardar  to  the  Maritza  and 
vice  versa,  '  if  the  situation  demands  it.'  On  Sep- 
tember 5,  the  Bulgarians  demand  to  have  all  their 
forces  for  disposition  in  Thrace,  the  Servians  make 
objections  and  no  agreement  is  reached.  At  last, 
three  days  after  the  Greek  military  convention  (Sep- 
tember 28),  an  understanding  was  arrived  at.    '  The 


The  Balkan  League  105 

whole  of  the  Bulgarian  army  will  operate  in  the 
valley  of  the  Maritza,  leaving  one  division  only  in 
the  first  days  on  the  Kustendil-Doupnitsa  line.'  But 
if  the  Ser\dan  army  repulsed  the  Turks  on  the 
Uskub  line  and  advanced  southward,  the  Bulgarians 
might  recall  their  division  to  the  theatre  of  the 
Maritza  to  reinforce  their  armies,  leaving  only  the 
battalions  of  the  territorial  army  in  Macedonia. 
Later,  as  is  known,  it  was  the  Servians  who  sent  two 
divisions  with  siege  artillery  to  Adrianople.  The 
Servians  were  later  to  declare  the  arrangements 
made  by  the  two  general  staffs  forced  and  not  bind- 
ing, and  to  use  this  as  an  argument  for  treaty  re- 
vision." 

The  Balkan  alliance  was  completed  by  the  inclu- 
sion of  Montenegro.  As  early  as  1888  King  Nich- 
olas of  Montenegro  had  memorialized  Russia  on  the 
subject  of  such  an  alliance.  The  Montenegrins,  it 
will  bo  recalled,  took  the  initiative  in  declaring  war. 
Mr.  Bourchier  writes  in  this  connection:  ''  Monte- 
negro had  been  at  peace  for  thirty-four  years,  a 
period  unprecedented  in  its  history.  The  moun- 
taineers were  spoiling  for  a  fight;  their  yatagans 
were  rusting  in  their  scabbards ;  and  the  interven- 
tion of  Europe,  with  a  scheme  of  Macedonian  re- 
form, threatened  to  deprive  them  of  their  heart's 
desire.  The  liberation  of  the  Macedonian  rayahs 
was  only  a  secondary  consideration  from  the  Monte 
negrin  point  of  view;  the  main  object  was  to  obtain 
a  '  place  in  the  sun,'  and  in  order  to  achieve  it,  King 
Nicholas  determined  to  force  the  hand  of  his  allies." 


CHAPTER    IX 

THE   FIRST   BALKAN    WAK 

Immediate  causes  of  the  war  —  Inefiiciency  of  the  great  powers  — 
Demands  of  the  allies  —  Turkey's  refusal  —  Declaration  of  war  — 
Composition  of  the  Bulgarian  army  —  General  Savoff  —  Kutin- 
cheff,  Ivanoff,  and  Dimitrieff  —  General  FitchefT  —  The  battle  of 
Kirk  Kiliss^  —  Bulgarian  successes  at  Lule  Burgas  and  Bunar  Ilis- 
sar  —  Before  the  Tchataija  lines  —  Expediency  of  the  attack  — 
The  siege  of  Adrianople — ^  Armistice  and  peace  conference  —  Re- 
sumption of  hostilities  —  Capture  of  Adrianople  —  The  part  Bul- 
garia took  in  the  first  Balkan  war  —  Tribute  to  the  splendid  quali- 
ties of  her  soldiers. 

The  immediate  causes  of  the  first  Balkan  war 
were  the  weakened  condition  of  the  Turkish  military 
forces  due  to  the  war  with  Italy;  rivalry  and  dis- 
cord among  the  army  leaders;  the  uprising  in  Al- 
bania; the  powerlessness  of  Europe  to  impose  on 
constitutional  Turkey  the  reforms  which  she  had 
attempted  to  introduce  when  Turkey  was  an  abso- 
lute monarchy;  and  the  consciousness  of  increased 
strength  among  the  Balkan  states  which  the  alliance 
had  given.  But  the  concentration  of  the  Turkish 
troops  at  Adrianople  was  the  final  cause  of  provo- 
cation. 

The  thread-bare  shibboleth  of  status  quo  of  the 
great  powers  was  displayed  with  pathetic  ineffi- 
ciency. Montenegro,  in  defiance  of  the  powers,  de- 
clared war  against  Turkey  the  8th  of  October,  1912. 
The  army  of  the  little  mountain  kingdom  promptly 
captured  Detchich,  Tuzi,  and  Raganj.  It  entered 
the  sanjak  and  took  Byelopolyc.     The  other  three 

106 


FATHER  AND  K()1;H  SONS  WUO  KOUUHT  I.N  THE  FIRST  BALKAN  WAlt 

(three   of  the  sons  were  killed). 


The  First  Balkan  War 107 

Balkan  allies  sent  to  Turkey  the  13th  of  October  an 
nitimatum  in  which  they  demanded  (1)  the  adminis- 
trative autonomy  of  European  Turkey;  (2)  the  rec- 
ognition of  ethnic  principles  in  the  determination  of 
provincial  boundaries;  (3)  the  appointment  of  Swiss 
or  Belgian  provincial  governors;  (4)  the  reorgani- 
zation of  the  Ottoman  gendarmerie;  (5)  freedom  in 
the  matter  of  organizing  and  supervising  schools; 
(6)  the  application  of  reforms  to  be  under  the  man- 
agement of  a  board  to  be  composed  equally  of  Chris- 
tians and  Moslems,  and  the  supervision  of  the  re- 
forms to  be  under  the  control  of  the  ambassadors 
of  the  great  powers  at  Constantinople  a7id  the  am- 
bassadors of  the  four  Balkan  states;  and  (7)  the 
immediate  demobilization  of  the  Ottoman  army. 

Turkey  professed  sublime  contempt  for  the  niti- 
matum, and  four  days  later  Bulgaria  and  Servia 
declared  war.  The  Bulgars  at  once  occupied  Mus 
tapha  pass,  and  the  24th  of  October  they  captured 
Kirk  Kilisse.  There  were  two  separate  theatres  of 
war  during  the  Balkan  struggle  —  eastern  Thrace 
and  western  Macedonia.  The  former  was  the  chief 
centre  from  the  very  outset;  here  all  the  hard  fight- 
ing was  done,  and  the  battles  won  by  the  Bulgars 
in  Thrace  decided  the  results  of  the  war. 

The  Bulgarian  main  army,  with  most  of  the  troops 
from  the  first,  second,  and  third  military  districts, 
won  the  victories  in  ^Phracc,  The  first  army  was 
under  General  Kutincheff;  the  second,  under  Gen- 
eral TvanofF,  and  the  third,  under  General  Dimi- 
trieff.  Detachments  from  the  sixth  division  were 
concentrated  at  Kustendil  to  cooperate  with  the  Ser- 


108  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

vians.  General  Savoff,  the  military  adviser  of  King 
Ferdinand,  was  the  generalissimo  of  the  Bulgarian 
forces. 

General  Savoff,  who  played  such  an  important  role 
in  the  two  Balkan  wars,  was  born  at  Haskovo  the 
14th  of  November,  1857.  He  studied  in  the  military 
school  at  Sofia,  where,  upon  the  completion  of  his 
course,  he  received  a  commission  as  lieutenant  in 
the  artillery.  He  was  stationed  for  a  time  in  East- 
ern Rumelia,  but  subsequently  pursued  a  course  of 
training  at  the  military  academy  at  St.  Petersburg 
and  studied  military  matters  in  France  and  Austria. 
He  served  as  captain  in  the  Servian  war  of  1885 
and  at  its  close  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major. 
He  became  minister  of  war  in  the  Stamboloff  cab- 
inet, and  applied  himself  with  great  zeal  and  effi- 
ciency to  the  reorganization  and  development  of  the 
Bulgarian  army.  After  five  years  in  the  ministry, 
he  spent  several  years  in  private  life,  devoted  chiefly 
to  travel  in  Europe.  Upon  his  return  he  was  ap- 
pointed principal  of  the  military  academy  at  Sofia, 
which  he  directed  for  eight  years  and  made  it  one 
of  the  most  effective  schools  of  its  type  in  Europe. 
He  entered  the  cabinet  of  Petroff  in  1903  as  min- 
ister of  war.  Large  expenditures  for  heavy^  artil- 
lery, shells,  and  other  articles  of  war  caused  oppo- 
sition in  the  sobranje  to  his  policy  and  he  resigned 
in  1908.  With  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Turkey 
he  was  by  common  consent  chosen  as  the  adviser 
of  the  king  to  direct  the  Bulgarian  forces. 

General  Kutincheff  was  born  at  Rustchuk  the  25th 
of  March,  1857.    He  was  graduated  from  the  mill- 


GENERAL    SAVOFF. 


The  First  Balkan  War 109 

tary  academy  at  Sofia;  commanded  a  battalion  in 
the  Servian  war,  and  distinguivshed  himself  at  Sliv- 
nitza.  He  was  in  command  of  the  first  army  in  the 
Balkan  war  and  rendered  admirable  service  to  Gen- 
eral Dimitrieff  on  his  right  flank. 

General  Ivanoff  was  born  at  Kalofer  the  18th  of 
February,  1861;  was  graduated  from  the  military 
academy  at  Sofia  and  received  a  sub-lieutenant's 
commission  in  1879.  He  served  in  the  Servian  war ; 
distinguished  himself  for  bravery,  and  was  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  first  lieutenant.  He  was  min- 
ister of  war  in  the  Stoi'loff  cabinet. 

General  Radko  Dimitrieff  was  born  at  Gradetz  the 
24th  of  September,  1859;  was  educated  in  the  mili- 
tary academy  at  Sofia ;  studied  at  the  military  school 
at  St.  Petersburg;  and  was  with  the  famous  left 
wing  that  won  the  decisive  battle  against  the  Ser- 
vians at  Slivnitza  in  1885.  He  spent  ten  years  in 
exile  in  Russia  but  returned  to  accept  appointment 
under  the  StoVIoff  government. 

General  Fitchoff,  joint  officer  with  Savoff  in  the 
Bulgarian  campaign  in  the  Balkan  war,  is  probably 
the  ablest  of  the  younger  officers  in  the  Bulgarian 
army.  He  w^as  born  at  Tirnovo  the  15th  of  April, 
1860;  was  educated  in  the  secondary  school  at  Tir- 
novo and  at  the  military  academy  at  Sofia;  was 
made  a  lieutenant  on  the  eve  of  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  with  Servia,  and  showed  great  ability  as  a  com- 
mander in  the  repulse  of  the  Scrsaans  at  Vidin. 
He  was  sent  to  Italy  to  study  in  tlie  military  acad- 
emy at  Turin.  Upon  his  return  he  was  appointed 
director  of  military  education.    He  is  a  quiet,  mod- 


110  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

est  man  of  scholarly  tastes  and  the  author  of  two 
able  works  on  military  subjects  —  Theory  of  Moun- 
tain Warfare  and  The  Siege  of  Vidin.  Noel  Buxton 
writes  of  him:  "  Fitcheif's  bright  eyes  conceal  a 
reserve  impenetrable  even  for  a  Bulgar ;  but  on  one 
subject  he  opens  out  —  the  wrongs  of  a  people 
worthy  of  freedom."  ^ 

The  first  signal  success  of  the  Bulgarian  forces 
against  the  Turks  was  at  Kirk  Kilisse,  Malko  Tir- 
novo  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Bulgarians  on 
their  march  from  Mustapha  Pasha.  On  the  23rd  of 
October  the  Bulgars  were  in  close  contact  with  the 
Turkish  forces  at  Kirk  Kilisse.  The  town  lies  in 
a  hollow  and  is  commanded  by  two  forts  that  stand 
on  high  ground.  The  Bulgarian  infantry  were 
launched  on  the  24th  in  a  continuous  and  successful 
assault.  The  Turkish  rear-guard  was  taken  by  a 
direct  frontal  attack.  Mahmud  Muklitar  with  sev- 
enty thousand  Ottoman  troops  was  defeated.  Gen- 
eral Radko  Dimitrieff  was  the  leader  of  the  victori- 
ous forces  at  Kirk  Kilisse.  It  was  not  the  most 
important  battle  of  the  war,  but  its  moral  signifi- 
cance was  very  great. 

Mr.  Noel  Buxton,  who  was  with  the  Bulgarian 
staff,  writes :  ''  It  was  a  thrilling  experience  for  one 
who  had  visited  Kirk  Kilisse  in  bygone  years  to 
enter  it  now  with  the  victors.  The  superficial  ap- 
pearance of  the  town,  which  I  had  visited  in  the 
Turkish  epoch,  was  of  itself  sufficient  to  indicate  the 
liberation  that  had  taken  place.     Every  man  had 

1  Wilh  the  Bulgarian  Staff.  By  Noel  Buxton.  New  York,  1913, 
pp.  165. 


The  First  Balkan  War ill 

discarded  with  delight  the  red  badge  of  ser^atude 
and  adopted  a  European  hat.  A  well-known  Chris- 
tian, who  had  been  a  member  of  the  Turkish  court 
of  appeal,  apologized  suddenly,  while  talking  to  me, 
for  wearing  his  hat.  He  had  forgotten,  he  said, 
that  it  was  a  hat  and  not  the  irremovable  fez.  The 
streets  wore  quite  a  changed  aspect  in  another  way. 
They  had  never  before  been  full  of  women  and  girls. 
One  could  not  forget  that  for  every  good-looking 
woman,  thanksgiving  was  due  for  the  present  free- 
dom from  danger.  It  was  not  only  happiness  but 
virtue  which  suffered  from  Turkish  rule;  and  this 
became  more  than  ever  evident  when  the  Christians 
were  free  to  show  themselves  and  express  their 
views.  The  licentious  habits  of  the  Turks,  which 
have  always  degraded  the  general  standard  in  re- 
gard to  purity,  meant  at  war  time  the  rape  and  dis- 
appearance of  girls  on  an  unprecedented  scale."  ^ 

The  first  and  third  Bulgarian  armies  advanced 
from  Kirk  Kilisse  to  Lule  Burgas,  where  they  en- 
countered the  main  Turkish  army  with  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  soldiers  under  the  command  of 
Abdullah  Pasha.  The  Bulgarian  army  made  an 
extraordinary  dash  the  29t]i  of  October.  The  fight- 
ing was  continuous  for  forty-eight  hours.  By  noon 
of  the  31st  of  October  it  was  apparent  that  the  Turks 
were  no  match  for  the  Bulgars,  and  by  evening  re- 
tirement became  general  and  degenerated  into  a 
rout.  The  Turks  retreated  in  the  direction  of 
Tchorlu.    Another  engagement  took  place  at  Bunar 

>  With  the  Bulgarian  Staff.  By  Noel  Buxton.  New  York,  1913, 
pp.  165. 


112 Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Hissar,  which  resulted  in  the  complete  defeat  of  the 
Turkish  troops.  Theu  the  Turks  retreated  behind 
the  Tchatalja  lines.  In  the  fighting  at  Lule  Burgas, 
Bunar  Hissar,  and  Tchorlu  the  Turks  had  lost  in 
killed  forty  thousand  and  the  Bulgars  about  half 
that  number. 

The  entrenched  lines  of  Tchatalja  stretch  from 
the  Black  sea  to  the  sea  of  Marmora,  a  distance  of 
about  twenty-five  miles.  The  actual  front  to  be 
defended,  however,  is  only  fifteen  miles,  as  lakes  and 
arms  of  the  sea  that  encroach  upon  the  land  reduce 
the  distance  about  ten  miles.  The  line  follows  a 
ridge  and  takes  its  name  from  the  village  of  Tcha- 
talja, which  lies  in  front  of  the  main  line  of  defence. 
The  line  is  strongest  in  the  central  and  southern 
sections  and  weakest  in  the  northern  wooded  part. 
Behind  these  lines  the  Turkish  troops  were  strongly 
intrenched,  with  abundant  opportunities  of  bringing 
up  food,  ammunition,  and  troops  from  Constanti- 
nople. 

The  expediency  of  the  attack  of  the  Tchatalja  lines 
has  been  seriously  questioned  by  military  experts. 
Lieutenant  Wagner  of  Austria,  who  was  with  the 
Bulgarian  army,  writes  concerning  this  question : 
*'  From  the  military  point  of  view  it  might  be  said 
that  even  the  most  complete  victory  would  give  no 
further  advantage  than  had  already  been  won,  for 
the  positions  already  held  by  the  Bulgarian  army 
in  front  of  the  Tchatalja  lines  were  amply  sufficient 
for  the  military  protection  of  the  territory  that  had 
been  conquered,  and  the  retention  of  these  positions 
by  the  army  would  entail  no  losses  worth  mention- 


The  First  Balkan  War U3 

ing.  But  from  a  political  point  of  view  a  victory 
over  the  Turkish  army  would  undoubtedly  break 
down  the  resistance  of  the  Porte  and  compel  the 
sultan's  government  to  make  peace  on  terms  dic- 
tated by  the  Balkan  states."^ 

The  siege  of  Adrianople  was  one  of  the  most 
dramatic  chapters  in  the  first  Balkan  war.  The  city 
had  quite  recently  been  strongly  fortified,  and  the 
construction  of  new  forts  of  concrete  and  armour 
plates  had  made  it  practically  a  defensible  fortress. 
The  Turkish  forces  of  the  city  were  commanded  by 
Shukri  Pasha,  one  of  the  ablest  generals  in  the 
Ottoman  army.  General  Ivan  off  was  in  charge  of 
the  Bulgarian  forces. 

The  Bulgarian  army  had  crossed  the  Turkish 
frontier  and  occupied  Kurt  Kale  the  18th  of  October. 
The  Turkish  troops  were  also  driven  from  the  Arda 
valley  at  Ortakeui  and  Seimenli.  The  bombardment 
of  Adrianople  was  begun  the  28th  of  October  on  the 
northwest  front  of  the  fortress.  The  southeast  and 
southwest  forts  were  invested  the  8th  of  November. 
It  was  recognized  that  the  capture  of  the  fort  would 
incur  large  losses  of  troops ;  so,  as  the  fortress  was 
reported  badly  pro\'isionerl,  it  was  determined  to 
starve  out  the  city  by  a  close  blockade.  This  deci- 
sion, however,  did  not  diminish  the  fierceness  of  the 
fighting,  which  continued  to  the  moment  of  the  ar- 
mistice. 

Tl\o  peace  conference  convonod  at  Tjondon  the  16th 
of  December,  1912 ;    but  the  dilatory-  tactics  of  the 

'  With  the  Victorious  Bulgarians.  By  Ilermenengild  Wagner.  Bos- 
ton, 1913,  pp.  273. 


114  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Turks  caused  the  powers  to  send  a  note  to  thq.  Otto- 
man government  on  the  17th  of  January,  1913,  ad- 
vising the  cession  of  Adrianople  to  the  Balkan 
states.  The  council  of  the  sultan's  government 
accepted  the  suggestion;  but  Enver  Bey,  the  hero 
of  1908,  caused  a  revolution  in  Constantinople  that 
overthrew  the  council.  The  Young  Turk  party  re- 
turned to  power  and  promptly  repudiated  the  action 
of  its  predecessors.  The  Balkan  states  declared  the 
negotiations  at  an  end  and  the  armistice  terminated. 
The  attack  on  Adrianople  was  resumed  and  the  city 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Bulgars  the  26tli  of  March, 
1913.    This  brought  to  a  close  the  first  Balkan  war. 

Bulgaria  had  borne  the  brunt  of  the  war.  She 
had  done  practically  all  of  the  hard  fighting.  A 
nation  of  a  little  more  than  four  million  inhabitants 
had  put  into  the  field  a  total  army  strength  (in- 
cluding line  of  communication)  of  a  half  million 
troops.  Fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  total  population 
of  the  kingdom  fought  in  the  first  Balkan  war;  a 
proportion  never  reached  by  any  other  nation,  not 
even  France  during  the  reign  of  Napoleon.  Lieu- 
tenant Wagner  remarks  in  this  connection:  "  Of 
the  four  allied  Balkan  states,  Bulgaria  was  the  one 
to  whose  lot  fell  the  most  serious  task  of  all.  She 
was  to  shatter  the  shield  of  the  enemy  and  then  deal 
liim  the  death  stroke.  And  in  the  main,  Bulgaria 
had  to  accomplish  this  task  alone,  and  without  direct 
support  from  any  of  the  allies." 

Foreigners  who  were  eye-witnesses  of  the  fighting 
during  the  first  Balkan  war  have  borne  abundant 
testimony  to  the  fine  qualities  of  the  Bulgarian  sol- 


The  First  Balkan  War 115 

diers.  '^  They  were  human  beings  of  a  fine  type,'' 
wrote  Noel  Buxton,  "  jjeasants  of  pure  blood,  re- 
markably free  from  immoral  diseases,  of  courage 
and  endurance  that  has  made  them  renowned  as 
fighters  throughout  Europe,  with  qualities  of  mind 
and  body  unique  among  the  peasants  of  the  world." 
The  same  author  calls  attention  to  the  entire  ab- 
sence of  love  of  show.  There  was  no  display  of 
pride  in  the  marvellous  victories  that  they  had  won 
over  the  Turks.  The  quality  of  coolness,  which 
the  Bulgars  possess  in  such  large  measure,  is  not 
a  trait  of  the  other  races  of  the  Balkan  peninsula. 
Mr.  Buxton  remarks  that  at  no  time  during  and  after 
the  war  did  he  see  any  sign  of  excitement.  *'  It  is 
enough  for  a  Bulgarian  that  he  knows  Avhat  he  has 
to  do  and  is  carrying  it  oait.  He  has  no  mannerisms ; 
deep  feeling  would  not  be  expressed  by  noise;  the 
whole  instinct  is  towards  reality.  If  a  Bulgarian 
utters  an  emotional  aphorism  he  does  it  with  studied 
calm. ' ' 


CHAPTER   X 

THE   SECOND   BALKAN    WAR 

Causps  of  the  second  Balkan  war  —  Conduct  of  the  Greek  and  Servian 
armies  in  Macedonia  —  Attempts  to  disintegrate  Bulgarian  Bocial 
and  national  life  —  Maltreatment  of  Bulgarian  bishops  and  teachers 
—  Secret  imderFttanding  between  Greece  and  Servia  before  the 
close  of  the  first  Balkan  war  —  Vacillating  policy  of  the  prime  minis- 
ter of  Servia  —  Violation  of  the  conditions  of  the  Balkan  league  by 
Greeks  and  Servians  —  Efforts  of  Russia  to  prevent  war  —  Gue- 
ehoff  and  Pachitch  in  conference  —  Outbreak  of  hostilities  —  Plan 
of  General  SavofT's  campaign  against  the  Servians  —  Greeks  attack 
the  Bulgarian  garrison  at  Salonika  —  Retreat  of  General  Ivanoff  — 
Invasion  of  Bulgaria  by  Rumania  —  Turkey  reconquers  Thrace  — 
The  peace  treaty  of  Bucharest  —  Why  the  Balkan  question  is  not 
settled. 

The  causes  of  the  second  Balkan  war,  the  frat- 
ricidal war  of  'Tilly,  1913,  among  the  allies,  are  ex- 
tremely complex  and  little  understood  in  America 
and  Europe.  The  recent  report  of  the  Carnegie 
commission  is  so  thorough  and  impartial  in  its  dis- 
cussion of  the  factors  that  brought  about  the  con- 
flict between  the  allies,  that  the  author  has  thought 
best  to  give  in  resume  the  findings  of  the  commis- 
sion. 

The  report  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  *'  there 
had  long  existed  germs  of  discord  among  the  Balkan 
nationalities  which  could  not  be  stifled  by  treaties 
of  alliance.  Rather  the  texts  of  these  treaties  cre- 
ated fresh  misunderstandings  and  afforded  formal 
pretexts  to  cover  the  real  reasons  of  conflict.  There 
was  but  one  means  which  could  have  effectually  pre- 
vented the  development  of  the  germs  —  to  maintain 

116 


The  Second  Balkan  War 117 

the  territorial  status  quo  of  Turkey  and  grant  au- 
tonomy to  the  nationalities  without  a  cliange  of  sov- 
ereignty. This  could  not  have  been,  it  is  true,  a 
definitive  solution ;  it  could  only  be  a  delay,  a  stage, 
but  a  stage  that  would  have  bridged  the  transition. 
In  default  of  an  issue  which  Turkey  rendered  im- 
possible by  its  errors,  Europe  by  its  too  protracted 
patience  and  the  allies  by  their  success,  the  change 
was  too  abrupt. 

"  We  find  this  struggle  in  Macedonia  from  the 
first  days  of  the  Servian  and  Greek  occupation  on- 
wards. At  first  there  was  general  rejoicing  and  an 
outburst  of  popular  gratitude  towards  the  libera- 
tors. The  Macedonian  revolutionaries  themselves 
had  foreseen  and  encouraged  this  feeling.  They 
said  in  their  '  proclamation  to  our  brothers,'  pub- 
lished by  the  delegates  of  the  twenty-five  Macedo- 
nian confederacies  on  October  5,  1912,  i.  c,  at  the 
very  beginning  of  the  war:  '  Brothers:  —  your  suf- 
ferings and  your  pains  have  touched  the  heart  of 
your  kindred.  Moved  by  the  sacred  duty  of  fra- 
ternal compassion,  they  come  to  your  aid  to  free 
you  from  the  Turkish  yoke.  In  return  for  their 
sacrifice  they  desire  nothing  but  to  reestablish  peace 
and  order  in  the  land  of  our  birth.  Come  to  meet 
these  brave  knights  of  freedom  therefore  with  tri- 
umphal crowns.  Cover  the  way  before  their  feet 
with  flowers  and  glory.  And  be  magnanimous  to 
those  who  yesterday  were  your  masters.  As  true 
Christians,  give  them  not  evil  for  evil.  Long  live 
liberty!  Long  live  the  brave  army  of  liberation!  ' 
In  fact  the  Servian  army  entered  the  north  of  Mace- 


118  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

donia,  and  the  Greek  army  the  south,  amid  cries  of 
joy  from  the  population.  But  this  enthusiasm  for 
the  liberators  soon  gave  place  to  doubt,  then  to 
disenchantment,  and  finally  was  converted  to  hatred 
and  despair.  The  Bulgarian  journal  published  at 
Salonika,  Bulgarine,  first  records  some  discouraging 
cases,  whose  number  was  swollen  by  the  presence  of 
certain  individuals,  chauvinists  of  a  peculiar  turn, 
who  gave  offence  to  the  national  sentiment  of  the 
country  by  the  risks  they  ran.  '  It  is  the  imperative 
duty  of  the  powers  in  occupation,'  said  the  journal, 
*  to  keep  attentive  watch  over  the  behaviour  of  irre- 
sponsible persons.'  Alas!  five  days  later  (Novem- 
ber 20)  the  journal  had  to  lay  it  down,  as  a  general 
condition  of  the  stability  of  the  alliance,  that  the 
powers  in  occupation  should  show  toleration  to  all 
nationalities  and  refrain  from  treating  some  of  them 
as  enemies.  Four  days  later  the  journal,  instead 
of  attacking  the  persons  responsible,  was  denoun- 
cing the  powers  who  '  in  their  blind  chauvinism  take 
no  account  of  the  national  sentiments  of  the  people 
temporarily  subject  to  them.'  They  still,  however, 
cherished  the  hope  that  the  local  authorities  were 
acting  without  the  knowledge  of  Belgrade.  The  next 
day  the  editor  wrote  his  leader  under  a  question 
addressed  to  the  allied  government :  *  75  this  a  war 
of  liberation  or  a  war  of  conquest?  *  He  knew  the 
reply  well  enough;  the  Greek  authorities  forbade 
the  existence  of  this  Bulgarian  paper  in  their  town 
of  Salonika. 

"  The  illusion  of  the  inhabitants  likewise  disap- 
peared before  the  touch  of  reality.     The  Servian 


The  Second  Balkan  War  119 

soldier,  like  the  Greek,  was  firmly  persuaded  that 
in  Macedonia  he  would  find  compatriots,  men  who 
could  speak  his  language.  He  misunderstood  or  did 
not  understand  at  all.  The  theory  he  had  learned 
from  youth  of  the  existence  of  a  Servian  Macedonia 
and  a  Greek  Macedonia  naturally  suffered ;  but  his 
patriotic  conviction  that  Macedonia  must  become 
Greek  or  Servian,  if  not  so  already,  remained  unaf- 
fected. Doubtless  Macedonia  had  been  what  he 
wanted  it  to  become  in  those  times  of  Dushan  the 
Strong  or  the  Byzantine  emperors.  It  was  only 
agitators  and  propagandist  Bulgarians  who  instilled 
into  the  population  the  idea  of  being  Bulgarian. 
The  agitators  must  be  driven  out  of  the  country, 
and  it  would  again  become  what  it  had  always  been, 
Servian  or  Greek.  Accordingly  they  acted  on  this 
basis. 

**  Who  were  these  agitators  who  had  made  the 
people  forget  the  Greek  and  Servian  tongues? 
First,  they  were  the  priests;  then  the  schoolmas- 
ters; lastly  the  revolutionary  elements  who,  under 
the  ancient  regime,  had  formed  an  '  organization  '; 
heads  of  bands  and  their  members,  peasants  who  had 
supplied  them  with  money  or  food,  —  in  a  word  the 
whole  of  the  nuile  population,  in  so  far  as  it  was 
educated  and  informed.  It  was  much  easier  for  a 
Servian  or  a  Greek  to  discover  all  these  criminal 
patriots  than  it  had  been  for  the  Turkish  authori- 
ties, under  the  absolutist  regime,  to  do  so.  The 
means  of  awakening  the  national  conscience  were 
much  better  known  to  Greeks  and  Servians,  for  one 
thing,  since  they  were  accustomed  to  use  them  for 


120  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

their  own  cause.  Priests,  schoolmasters,  and  bands 
existed  among  the  Greeks  and  Servians,  as  well  as 
among  the  Bulgarians.  In  Macedonia  the  differ- 
ence, as  we  know,  lay  in  the  fact  that  the  school- 
master or  priest,  the  Servian  voyevoda  or  Greek 
antarte,  addressed  himself  to  the  minority,  and  had 
to  recruit  his  own  following  instead  of  finding  them 
ready  made.  Isolated  in  the  midst  of  a  Bulgarian 
population,  he  made  terms  with  Turkish  power 
while  the  national  Bulgarian  '  organizations  '  fought 
against  it.  Since  the  representative  of  the  national 
minority  lived  side  by  side  with  his  Bulgarian  neigh- 
bours, and  knew  them  far  better  than  did  the  Turk- 
ish official  or  policeman,  he  could  supply  the  latter 
with  the  exact  information.  He  learned  still  more 
during  the  last  few  years  of  general  truce  between 
the  Christian  nationalities  and  the  growing  alliance 
against  the  Turk,  Almost  admitted  to  the  plot, 
many  secrets  were  known  to  him.  It  was  but  natural 
he  should  use  this  knowledge  for  the  advantage  of 
the  compatriots  who  had  appeared  in  the  guise  of 
liberators.  On  the  arrival  of  his  army,  he  was  no 
longer  solitary,  isolated  and  despised;  he  became 
useful  and  necessary,  and  was  proud  of  serving  the 
national  cause.  With  his  aid,  denunciation  became 
an  all-powerful  weapon ;  it  penetrated  to  the  re- 
cesses of  local  life  and  revived  events  of  the  past 
unknown  to  the  Turkish  authorities.  These  men, 
regarded  by  the  population  as  leaders  and  venerated 
as  heroes,  were  arrested  and  punished  like  mere 
vagabonds  and  brigands,  while  the  dregs  were  raised 
to  greatness. 


The  Second  Balkan  War  121 

**  This  progressive  disintegration  of  social  and 
national  life  began  in  Macedonia  witli  the  entry  of 
the  armies  of  occupation,  and  did  not  cease  during 
the  eight  months  which  lie  between  the  beginning 
of  the  first  war  and  the  beginning  of  the  second.  It 
could  not  fail  to  produce  the  most  profound  changes. 
The  Bulgarian  nation  was  decapitated.  A  beginning 
was  made  when  it  was  easiest.  The  openly  revolu- 
tionary elements  were  gotten  rid  of,  —  the  komi- 
tadjis  and  all  those  who  had  been  connected  with 
the  movement  of  insurrection  against  the  Turkish 
rule  or  the  conflict  with  the  national  minorities. 
This  was  the  easier  because  in  the  chaos  of  Mace- 
donian law  there  was  no  clearly  drawn  line  of  de- 
marcation between  political  and  ordinary  crime. 

"  To  combat  the  Bulgarian  schools  was  more  dif- 
ficult. The  time  was  already  long  past  when  the 
schoolmaster  was  necessarily  a  member  of  the  '  in- 
terior organization.'  The  purely  professional  ele- 
ment had  steadily  displaced  the  apostles  and  mar- 
tyrs of  preceding  generations.  But  the  conquerors 
saw  things  as  they  had  been  decades  ago.  For  them 
the  schoolmaster  was  always  the  conspirator,  the 
dangerous  man  who  must  be  gotten  rid  of,  and  the 
school,  however  strictly  *  professional,'  was  a  cen- 
tre from  which  Bulgarian  civilization  emanated. 
This  is  why  the  school  became  the  object  of  sys- 
tematic attack  on  the  part  of  Servians  and  Greeks. 
Their  first  act  on  arriving  in  any  place  whatsoever 
was  to  close  the  schools  and  use  them  as  quarters  for 
the  soldiery.  Then  the  teachers  of  the  village  were 
collected  together  and  told  that  their  services  were 


122  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

no  longer  required  if  tliey  refused  to  teach  in  Greek 
or  Servian.  Those  who  continued  to  declare  them- 
selves Bulgarians  were  exposed  to  a  persecution 
whose  severity  varied  with  the  length  of  their  re- 
sistance. Even  the  most  intransigent  had  to  avow 
themselves  beaten  in  the  end;  if  not,  they  were 
sometimes  allowed  to  depart  for  Bulgaria,  but  more 
usually  sent  to  prison  in  Salonika  or  Uskub. 

**  The  most  difficult  people  to  subdue  were  the 
priests,  and  above  all  the  bishops.  They  were  first 
asked  to  change  the  language  of  divine  service.  En- 
deavours were  made  to  subject  them  to  the  Servian 
or  Greek  ecclesiastical  authorities,  and  they  were 
compelled  to  mention  their  names  in  the  liturgy. 
If  the  priest  showed  the  smallest  inclination  to  re- 
sist, his  exarchist  church  was  taken  from  him  and 
handed  over  to  the  patriarchists;  he  was  forbidden 
to  hold  any  communication  with  his  flock,  and  on  the 
smallest  disobedience  was  accused  of  political  prop- 
agandism  and  treason.  At  first  an  open  attack  on 
the  bishops  was  not  ventured  on.  When  Neophite, 
bishop  of  Veles,  refused  to  separate  the  name  of 
King  Peter  from  the  names  of  the  other  kings  of 
the  allies  in  his  prayers,  and  used  colours  in  his 
services  which  were  suspected  of  being  the  Bul- 
garian national  colours,  Mr.  Pachitch  advised  the 
military  powers  at  Uskub  (January,  1913)  to  treat 
him  as  equal  to  the  Ser\ian  bishop  and  with  cor- 
reciitude.  This  ministerial  order,  however,  did  not 
prevent  the  local  administrator  of  Veles,  some  weeks 
later,  from  forbidding  Neophite  to  hold  services  and 
assemblies  in  his  bishopric,  to  see  priests  outside  of 


The  Second  Balkan  War  123 

the  church  or  to  hold  communication  with  the  vil- 
lages. As  the  bishop  refused  to  take  the  veiled  hints 
given  to  him  to  depart  for  Bulgaria,  an  officer  was 
finally  sent  to  his  house  accompanied  by  soldiers, 
who  took  his  abode  for  the  army,  after  having  beaten 
his  secretary.  In  the  same  way  Cosmas,  bishop  of 
Debra,  was  forced  to  abandon  his  seat  and  leave  his 
town.  It  was  even  worse  at  Uskub,  where  the  holder 
of  the  bishopric,  the  Archimandrite  Methodius,  was 
first  driven  out  of  his  house,  taken  by  force,  shut 
up  in  a  room  and  belaboured  by  four  soldiers  until 
he  lost  consciousness.  Cast  out  into  the  street,  Me- 
thodius escaped  into  a  neighbouring  house,  in  which 
a  Frenchman  dwelt,  who  told  the  story  to  Mr.  Car- 
lier,  French  consul  at  Uskub.  Under  his  protection, 
Methodius  left  for  Salonika  on  April  13,  whence  he 
was  sent  to  Sofia.  The  commission  has  in  its  pos- 
session a  deposition  signed  by  the  foreign  doctors 
of  Salonika  who  saw  and  examined  Methodius  on 
April  15,  and  found  his  story  '  entirely  probable.' 
The  Bulgarian  leaders,  intellectual  and  religious,  of 
the  revolutionary  movement,  having  been  removed, 
the  population  of  the  villages  were  directly  ap- 
proached and  urged  to  change  their  nationality  and 
proclaim  themselves  Servian  or  Greek."' 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  while  the  Bulgarian  forces 
were  still  fighting  at  Tchatalja  and  Adrianople,  the 
Greeks  and  Servians,  who  were  merely  holding 
Macedonia  for  the  allies,  had  already  determined  to 


•  Report  of  Ihc  International  Commission  to  Inquire  into  the  Causes 
and  Effects  of  the  Balkan  Wars.  Puhliehed  by  the  Carnegie  Endow- 
ment for  International  Peace,  Washington,  D.  C,  1914. 


124 Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

retain  permaneutly  the  territories  they  occupied,  in 
entire  disregard  of  treaty  obligations.  That  there 
was  a  secret  understanding  between  Servia  and 
Greece,  subsequent  events  clearly  indicated.  The 
Russophil  Gucshoff  and  Daneff  cabinets  professed 
to  believe  in  the  sacredness  of  treaty  obligations. 
But  Servia  and  Greece  cared  very  little  about  such 
obligations  and  when  the  time  for  arbitration  came 
they  openly  denounced  the  treaty  and  made  it  clear 
to  Bulgaria  that  they  would  retain  with  the  sword 
what  they  held.  The  partition  treaty  had,  accord- 
ingly, been  violated  months  before  General  SavofF 
issued  the  order  that  is  usually  supposed  to  have 
been  the  direct  cause  of  the  second  Balkan  war. 

Another  causal  factor  in  the  second  Balkan  war 
was  tiie  greed  of  Servia  and  the  vacillating  policy 
of  Mr.  Pachitch,  her  prime  minister.  The  creation 
of  an  autonomous  Albania  was  certainly  a  great 
disappointment  to  Servian  ambition;  and  this  dis- 
appointment, it  has  been  generally  supposed,  was 
what  led  her  to  form  an  alliance  with  Greece  against 
her  Slav  neighbour.  But  the  recent  report  of  the 
Carnegie  commission  shows  that  '*  On  September 
28,  1912,  that  is  to  say,  six  and  a  half  months  after 
the  conclusion  of  the  treaty,  and  twenty  days  beforie 
the  beginning  of  the  first  Balkan  war,  Servia 's 
representative  received  a  secret  circular  demanding 
the  incorporation  in  *  Old  Servia,'  beyond  the  agreed 
frontier,  of  the  towns  of  Prilep,  Kitchevo  and 
Ochrida.  With  the  victories  of  the  Servian  army, 
the  list  of  concessions  demanded  rapidly  lengthened. 
Mr.  Pachitch  was  still  only  talking  of  Prilep,  the 


The  Second  Balkan  War 125 

town  of  the  legendary  hero,  Marko  Kralievitch, 
when  the  army  was  asking  for  Monastir.  "\Mien  ho 
asked  for  Monastir,  the  army  insisted  on  a  frontier 
coterminous  with  Greece.  The  government  ended 
by  accepting  all  the  conditions  laid  down  by  the 
country,  conditions  that  grew  more  and  more  exact- 
ing. The  military  party  was  powerful ;  it  was  led 
by  the  hereditary  prince;  and  it  invariably  suc- 
ceeded in  overriding  the  first  minister,  always  unde- 
cided, always  temporizing  and  anxious  to  arrange 
everything  pleasantly.  The  demands  presented  to 
the  Bulgarians  by  Mr.  Pachitch  were  as  vague  and 
indecisive  as  his  home  policy.  He  began  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1912,  by  offering  a  revision  of  the  treaty 
in  the  official  organ.  Then  in  December,  in  a  private 
letter  to  his  ambassador  at  Sofia,  he  informed  Mr. 
Gueshoff,  the  head  of  the  Bulgarian  cabinet,  that 
revision  was  necessary.  In  January  his  ideas  as  to 
the  limits  within  which  tlie  said  revision  should  take 
place,  wore  still  undecided.  In  February  he  sub- 
mitted written  proposals  to  the  Bulgarian  govern- 
ment, and  suggested  that  revision  might  be  under- 
taken *  without  rousing  public  opinion  or  allowing 
the  great  powers  to  mix  theniselves  up  with  the 
question  of  partition.'  At  this  moment  Mr.  Pachitch 
could  still  fancy  that  he  had  the  solution  of  the  con- 
flict in  his  hand.  He  was  to  lose  this  illusion.  His 
colleague  was  already  writing  his  *  Balcanicus  '  pam- 
phlet, in  whicli  he  took  his  stand  on  the  clause 
pacta  servanda  sunt,  with  the  reservation  rehys  sic 
stantibus,  and  pointing  to  the  changes  in  the  dispo- 
sition of  the  allied  armies  between  the  two  theatres 


126  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

of  war,  as  infractions  of  the  treaty  which  must  lead 
to  revision.  In  his  speech  of  May  29,  Mr.  Pachitch 
ended  by  accepting  this  reasoning.  At  the  same 
time  the  military  authorities  in  Macedonia  had  de- 
cided to  hold  on.  On  February  27,  1913  they  told 
the  population  of  Veles  that  the  town  would  remain 
in  Servia,  On  April  3rd  Major  Razsoukanoff,  Bul- 
garian attache  with  the  general  staff  of  the  Servian 
army  at  Uskub,  told  his  government  that  his  de- 
mands were  not  even  answered  with  conditional 
phrases.  '  This  is  provisional,  until  it  has  been 
decided  to  whom  such  and  such  a  village  belongs.' 
Major  Kazsoukanoff  learned  that  at  the  instance 
of  the  general  staff  the  Belgrade  government  had 
decided  on  the  rivers  Zletovska,  Bregalnitsa  and 
Lakavitsa  as  the  definite  eastern  limit  of  the  occu- 
pation territory.  The  interesting  correspondence 
published  by  Balcanicus  in  his  pamphlet  refers  to 
the  forced  execution  of  this  resolution  in  the  dis- 
puted territories  during  the  month  of  March.  We 
have  here,  on  the  one  hand,  the  Bulgarian  komi- 
tadjis  begging,  according  to  the  advice  of  the  above 
letter,  for  the  arrival  of  the  Bulgarian  force,  and 
trying  in  its  absence,  to  do  its  work,  well  or  ill;  on 
the  other,  the  Servian  army,  setting  up  Serviati 
administration  in  the  villages,  closing  the  Bulgarian 
schools,  driving  out  the  komitadjis  and  '  reestablish- 
ing order.'  Between  the  two  parties,  contending  in 
a  time  of  peace,  stood  the  population,  forced  to  side 
with  one  or  the  other  and  naturally  inclining  to  the 
stronger." 

The  Rumanian  green  book  confirms  the  fact  that 


The  Second  Balkan  War  127 

-  -         ■ 

there  was  an  agreement  between  Servia  and  Greece 
long  before  the  outbreak  of  hostilities.  As  early 
as  the  24th  of  March,  1913,  the  Servian  ambassador 
at  Bucharest  proposed  to  Rumania  a  treaty  of  alli- 
ance against  Bulgaria,  and  on  the  2nd  of  May  the 
Grreek  ambassador  made  the  same  proposition.  It 
is  now  known  that  Greece  and  Servia  entered  into 
an  alliance  against  Bulgaria  as  early  as  the  9th  of 
March,  although  the  convention  was  not  concluded 
until  the  IGth  of  May.  In  the  meantime  the  Servian 
general  staff  employed  the  time  in  fortifying  the 
central  position  at  Ovtche-Pole;  and  the  Greeks, 
after  increasing  their  Macedonian  army  by  the  addi- 
tion of  the  regiments  released  by  the  capture  of 
Janiiia,  also  tried  to  take  up  advanced  positions  in 
the  area  of  the  Bulgarian  occupation  at  Pravichta 
and  Nigrita.  These  steps  were  taken  while  the 
peace  congress  was  still  in  session  in  London ! 

The  Carnegie  commission  reports  as  follows  con- 
cerning the  next  step  taken  by  Servia:  "  On  May 
25,  Mr.  Pachitch  dually  despatched  to  Sofia  propo- 
sitions relative  to  the  revision  of  tlie  treaty.  He 
justified  the  new  Servian  demands  by  two  classes  of 
reasons.  First,  the  clauses  of  the  treaty  had  been 
modified  in  application;  secondly,  external  circum- 
stances not  foreseen  by  the  treaty  had  profoundly 
changed  its  tenor.  The  clauses  of  the  treaty  had 
been  violated  by  the  fact  that  the  Bulgarians  had 
not  given  the  Servians  military  assistance,  while  the 
Servians  for  their  part  had  aided  the  Bulgarians. 
The  refusal  to  leave  the  Adriatic  on  the  part  of  the 
Servians,  and  the  occupations  of  Adrianople   and 


128  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 


Thrace  by  the  Bulgarians,  constituted  two  new  vio- 
lations of  the  treaty.  Servia  then  was  entitled  to 
territorial  compensation;  first,  because  the  Bulga- 
rians had  not  rendered  the  promised  aid;  second, 
because  Servda  had  assisted  the  Bulgarians;  third, 
because  Servia  had  lost  the  Adriatic  littoral  while 
Bulgaria  had  acquired  Thrace.  This  time  Mr.  Pa- 
chitch  was  in  accord  with  public  opinion.  This  same 
public  opinion  had  its  influence  on  the  Bulgarian 
government.  Since  the  treaty  of  February  29  re- 
mained secret,  the  public  could  not  follow  the  jurid- 
ical casuistry  based  on  a  commentary  on  this  or  that 
ambiguous  phrase  in  the  text.  The  public  renounced 
the  treaty  en  bloc  and  would  have  nothing  to  do  with 
the  '  contested  zone.'  If  the  Servians  transgressed 
the  terms  of  the  treaty  in  their  demands  Bulgarian 
diplomatists  greatly  inclined  to  act  in  the  same  way. 
If  the  Servians  demanded  an  outlet  on  the  ^gean 
as  a  necessary  condition  of  existence  after  the  loss 
of  their  outlet  on  tlie  Adriatic,  and  insisted  on  a 
coterminous  frontier  with  Greece  to  secure  it,  M. 
Daneff  left  the  allies  and  contravened  the  terms  of 
the  treaty  when  he  laid  before  the  powers  in  Lon- 
don a  demand  for  a  frontier  coterminous  with  Al- 
bania in  the  Dobra  region.  At  the  same  time  Mr. 
Daneff  went  against  his  ministerial  colleagues  and 
followed  the  military  authorities  in  refusing  to  hand 
over  Salonika.  Russia  appeared  to  have  promised 
it  him,  after  promising  the  Vardar  plain  to  Servia. 
Thus  on  the  one  hand  complications  and  broils  were 
being  introduced  by  the  perversion  to  megalomania 
of  the  National  Ideal:    on  the  other  (this  was  the 


The  Second  Balkan  War 129 

standpoint  of  Gueshoff  and  Theodoroff),  there  was 
the  endeavour  to  safegnard  the  alliance.  With  Ser- 
via  drawing  near  to  Greece,  Bulgaria  had  to  join 
hands  with  Rumania  if  it  were  not  to  find  itself 
isolated  in  the  peninsula.  This  w^as  what  Austria- 
Hungary  wanted,  and  it  favoured  the  policy.  Ru- 
mania accepted,  but  on  condition  of  receiving  the 
recompense  assured  it  by  a  secret  convention  with 
Austria  in  the  event  of  war  with  Bulgaria :  an- 
nexation of  the  Tutrakan-Baltchik  line.  On  these 
conditions  Rumania  would  remain  neutral ;  it  even 
promised  military  assistance  against  Turkey!  But 
Turkey  was  defeated  and  the  ministry  pretended  not 
to  desire  war  with  the  allies.  Why  then  sacrifice 
the  richest  bit  of  Bulgarian  territory?  Austria 'v-: 
effort  broke  against  these  hypocritical  and  formal 
—  or  too  simple  —  arguments.  At  bottom  war  was 
believed  to  be  inevitable  and  Russia,  it  was  thought, 
would  do  the  rest.  Russia  threatened  Bulgaria  with 
Rumanian  invasion,  if  it  came  to  war.  By  the  end 
of  May,  Russian  diplomacy  made  a  final  effort  to 
avoid  conflict.  While  agreeing  to  play  the  part  of 
arbiter  within  the  limits  of  the  alliance,  Russia  gave 
counsels  of  prudence.  Go  beyond  the  Servian  de- 
mands for  compensation,  they  said:  despite  the 
implicit  promise  the  Ser\-ians  made  you  of  demand- 
ing nothing  beyond  what  the  treaty  gave  them,  agree 
to  cede  some  towns  outside  the  *  contested  zone,* 
*  beyond  '  the  frontier  which  they  had  promised  not 
to  '  violate.' 

"  This  Russian  solution,  which  could  not  satisfy 
the  Servians,  had  not  much  chance  of  being  accepted 


130  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

by  the  Bulgarians.  The  attitude  taken  by  Russia 
filled  the  opposing  parties  with  some  doubts  as  to 
the  impartiality  of  its  arbitration.  The  Serv^ians 
were  sure  that  Russia  had  not  forgotten  the  Bul- 
garia of  San  Stefano  and  the  Bulgarians  could  not 
use  Macedonia  as  a  medium  of  exchange  on  the 
international  market.  On  both  sides  the  conviction 
was  reached  that  the  issue  must  be  sought  in  armed 
conflict. ' ' 

Russia  supported  the  lead  of  Bulgaria  in  the  Bal- 
kan league  so  long  as  she  regarded  the  alliance  as 
an  instrument  against  Austria.  She  evidently  ex- 
pected Turkey  to  win  in  the  struggle;  and  then 
under  the  pretext  of  ''  saving  the  Balkans,"  she 
could  fix  her  price  for  the  service.  But  the  success 
of  Bulgaria  in  the  first  Balkan  war  disappointed 
her,  and  she  accordingly  determined  to  crush  the 
independent  upstart.  Russia  and  Austria  were  as 
one  as  to  the  undoing  of  the  Balkan  league.  Russia 
crushed  it  by  crushing  its  heart  —  Bulgaria. 

Gueshoff  and  Pachitch,  the  prime  ministers  of 
Bulgaria  and  Servia,  at  a  meeting  at  Tsaribrod 
made  one  further  effort  to  avert  war;  but  nothing 
came  of  the  conference.  The  tsar  of  Russia  made 
a  final  effort  to  bring  the  two  countries  to  a  friendly 
solution  of  their  difficulties.  "  On  May  26,  he  sent 
a  telegram  to  the  kings  of  Servia  and  Bulgaria  in 
which,  while  noting  the  suggested  meeting  at  Salo- 
nika and  its  eventual  continuation  at  St.  Petersburg, 
he  reminded  them  that  they  were  bound  to  submit 
their  findings  to  his  arbitrament.  He  stated  sol- 
emnly that  *  the   state  which  begins  the  war  will 


The  Second  Balkan  War  131 


answer  for  its  conduct  to  Slavism.'  He  reserved 
to  himself  entire  freedom  to  decide  what  attitude 
Russia  would  take  up  in  view  of  the  '  possible  con- 
sequences of  this  criminal  strife.'  The  secret  diplo- 
matic correspondence  explains  this  threat.  If  Ser- 
via  will  not  submit  to  Russian  arbitration  '  it  will 
risk  its  existence.'  If  it  is  Bulgaria  that  resists, 
'  it  will  be  attacked,  in  the  war  with  the  allies,  by 
Rumania  and  Turkey.'  " 

Neither  Servia  nor  Bulgaria  really  cared  for  the 
intervention  of  the  tsar  of  Russia.  He  was  dis- 
trusted by  both  of  the  contestants.  Mr.  Gueshoff 
had  resigned  as  prime  minister  of  Bulgaria  the  17th 
of  May;  and  while  the  DanelT  ministry  was  still 
engaged  in  pourparlers  with  Russia  and  the  ex- 
nllies,  hostilities  were  precipitated  by  General  Sa- 
voff  by  tlie  provocation  of  the  Servians.  The  mili- 
tary spirit  was  strong  at  both  Sofia  and  Belgrade, 
and  neither  Mr.  Danoff  nor  Mr.  Pachitch  possessed 
the  qualities  of  which  great  statesmen  arc  made. 
They  yielded  to  an  irresistible  public  pressure  that 
reopened  the  bloody  strife.  As  the  report  of  the 
Carnegie  commission  well  remarks  in  this  connec- 
tion: "  A  war  of  liberation  became  a  war  of  con- 
quest for  the  satisfaction  of  personal  ambition :  but 
its  causes,  too,  lay  in  strategic  necessities ;  in  legit- 
imate tendencies  implicit  in  the  traditional  national 
policy;  in  the  auto-liypnosis  of  a  people  which  had 
never  experienced  a  reverse  and  was  intoxicated  by 
successes,  justly  recognized  by  all  the  world  for 
their  military  glory;  in  a  misjudgment  of  their 
opponents  based  on  well  known  facts  in  the  past  and 


132  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

ignorance  of  the  present;  in  a  word  in  that  pro- 
found belief  in  their  cause  and  their  star  which  is 
a  part  of  the  national  character." 

General  Savoff's  plan  of  the  second  Balkan  war 
was  to  surprise  the  Servians  by  throwing  the  prin- 
cipal weight  of  the  Bulgarian  army  against  the  Ser- 
vian home  territory  by  the  passes  leading  from 
northwest  Bulgaria  through  the  Balkan  mountains. 
His  aim  was  to  cut  off  Servian  forces  in  Macedonia 
from  their  base.  After  the  attack  had  been  ordered, 
the  Russian  government  tried  to  stop  the  movement 
of  the  armies ;  and  Daneff,  in  obedience  to  the  wishes 
of  St.  Petersburg,  ordered  the  retreat  of  the  Bul- 
garian troops.  The  delay  was  fatal.  Scrvia  learned 
the  direction  of  the  Bulgarian  march;  hastily  for- 
tified the  passes,  and  effected  a  union  with  the  Greek 
army  in  Macedonia.  At  first  successful,  the  Bul- 
garian army  was  checked  and  then  thrown  back  by 
the  reenforcements  that  Servia  was  able  to  push 
forward  by  railways  and  highways.  Bulgaria  had 
only  the  use  of  rough  mountain  roads.  The  Bul- 
garian troops  were  thrown  on  the  defensive,  and 
the  operations  assumed  the  character  of  a  station- 
ary holding  contest,  which  prevented  them  from 
turning  in  force  against  the  Greeks,  the  Rumanians, 
and  the  Turks. 

On  the  1st  of  July  the  Greeks  fell  upon  the  Bul- 
garian garrison  at  Salonika,  massacred  some  of  the 
soldiers  and  took  the  others  prisoners.  General 
Ivanoff  commanded  the  Bulgarian  forces  in  the 
south  against  the  Greeks.  Ilis  army  was  composed 
of  thirty-three  thousand  soldiers,  most  of  them  un- 


The  Second  Balkan  War 133 

trained  local  levies  who  had  enrolled  eight  weeks 
before.  He  was  compelled  to  face  a  Greek  force 
of  one  hundred  twenty  thousand  troops.  Finding 
himself  outnumbered  by  nearly  four  to  one,  he  pre- 
pared to  retire  from  his  base,  when  he  was  attacked 
at  Kukush  the  2nd  of  July.  He  drew  in  his  extended 
wings  and  made  an  orderly  retreat.  He  was  two 
hundred  miles  from  the  Bulgarian  frontier  and 
nearly  three  hundred  miles  from  his  base  of  sup- 
plies, with  no  prospects  of  reenforcements  for  a 
month. 

Seeing  that  matters  were  going  badly  with  the 
Bulgars,  Rumania  decided  to  strike  them  in  the 
back.  She  mobilized  with  great  celerity  the  5th  of 
July,  crossed  the  Danube  on  a  bridge  of  boats  and 
occupied  Nikopol.  Cholera  and  the  rising  of  the 
river  prevented  her  army  from  joining  the  forces 
of  Servia,  Greece,  and  Montenegro.  The  Bulgari- 
ans made  no  resistance  to  the  invading  Rumanian 
army.  On  the  12th  of  July  the  Turks  took  the  of- 
fensive and  began  the  rcconqueat  of  Thrace.  Lule 
Burgas  and  Kirk  Kilisse  were  taken  the  21st  of 
July  and  Adrianoplc  recaptured  the  22nd. 

It  was  apparent  that  Bulgaria  could  not  meet  suc- 
cessfully the  combined  armies  of  five  nations  — 
Greece,  Servia,  Montenegro,  Rumania,  and  Turkey. 
King  Ferdinand  appealed  first  to  Europe  and  then 
to  the  tsar  of  Russia  to  mediate.  Mr.  DanetT,  who 
had  brought  the  country  to  the  brink  of  destruction, 
resigned.  An  armistice  was  declared  and  negotia- 
tions were  opened  at  Bucharest  the  30th  of  July. 
The  peace  of  Bucharest,  signed  the  10th  of  August, 


134  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

brought  to  a  close  the  war  of"  ikilgaria  with  Servia, 
Greece,  Montenegro,  and  Eumania ;  and  peace  with 
Turkey  was  concluded  the  29th  of  September. 

By  the  conditions  of  the  treaty  of  Bucharest,  Bul- 
garia was  forced  to  cede  to  Rumania  2,969  square 
miles  of  territory,  containing  286,000  inhabitants, 
all  but  fifty  thousand  of  whom  are  Bulgars.  The 
wheat  alone  from  this  territory  yields  eight  million 
dollars  a  year.  Practically  all  of  Macedonia  was 
lost  to  Greece  and  Rervia;  and  the  treaty  which 
was  signed  a  few  weeks  later  with  Turkey  deprived 
ker  of  most  of  Thrace.  The  Bulgars  were  forced 
to  accept  these  wicked  and  unjust  treaties  under 
force  ?najeure,  opposed  as  they  were  on  all  sides  by 
enemies.  But  it  must  be  the  endeavour  of  the  Bul- 
garian nation  to  annul  at  the  earliest  possible  mo- 
ment the  unfair  and  humiliating  treaty  her  delegates 
were  forced  to  sign  at  Bucharest.  Had  Servia 
yielded  Kotchana,  Tshtip,  and  Radovishta,  and 
Greece  Kavala,  the  Bulgars  might  have  regarded 
the  Balkan  question  as  closed.  But  the  extreme 
coveteousness  betrayed  by  her  former  allies  at  Bu- 
charest makes  reasonably  certain  a  third  Balkan 
war.  For  the  moment  the  Bulgars  accept  their 
humiliation  in  grim  silence,  but  they  nurse  with 
none  the  less  determination  a  spirit  of  revenge  for 
the  manifest  wrongs  they  have  been  forced  to  bear. 


CHAPTER   XI 

ALLEGED    BULGARIAN    ATROCITIES 

The  prcs3  campaign  of  King  Constantinc  of  Greece — Isolation  of 
Bulgaria  during  the  second  Balkan  war  —  Personal  experiences  of 
the  aut.hor  —  Testimony  of  refugees  —  What  he  saw  in  the  Rilo 
and  the  Rhodopc  mountains  —  Accounts  of  atrocities  i)ubli8hcd 
in  Le  Temps  and  the  retraction  —  Bishops  report,ed  killed  by  the 
(ireeks  found  alive  by  the  Carnegie  commission  —  How  the  Greeks 
forged  the  signature  of  an  American  missionary  —  Bulgaria  de- 
mands the  appointment  of  an  international  commission  to  inves- 
tigate the  atrocities  of  all  the  belligerents  —  Action  of  the  Hague 
tribunal  —  Report  of  the  Carnegie  commission  —  Its  findings  at 
Doxato,  Seres,  and  Demir  Hissar  —  Responsibility  of  the  Greeks 
—  Charges  by  the  Greeks  of  mutilation  of  bodies  by  Bulgarian 
soldiers  pronounced  false  by  the  commi8.sion. 

Early  in  Jul}',  1913,  a  few  da3''s  after  the  out- 
break of  hostilities  between  the  ]5iilgarians  and  their 
former  allies  —  the  Greeks,  the  Servians,  and  the 
Montenegrins  —  King  Constantine  of  Greece  took 
the  press  of  the  world  into  his  confidence  and  made 
grave  and  specific  charges  of  atrocities  against  the 
soldiers  in  the  Bulgarian  army.  In  a  dispatch  ad- 
dressed to  the  Greek  legations  in  the  capitals  of 
Europe  he  threatened  reprisals,  and  authorized  his 
ministers  to  make  his  intentions  known.  During  the 
month  of  fighting  in  the  second  Balkan  war  the  ani- 
mosity of  the  Greek  troops  was  kept  at  a  fever  heat 
by  the  belief  that  the  population  of  certain  Greek 
towns  had  been  subjected  to  pillage,  outrage,  and 
massacre  by  the  Bulgars.  At  the  time  these  charges 
were  made  Bulgaria  was  isolated  and  her  tele- 
graphic communications  cut. 

135 


136  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

During  the  whole  of  the  month  of  July  Bulgaria 
was  completely  out  of  touch  with  the  rest  of  the 
world.  But  from  the  2nd  of  July  the  Greek  press 
agents  kept  the  newspapers  of  Europe  and  iVmerica 
supplied  wdth  letters  and  photographs  that  com- 
pletely alienated  the  sympathy  of  civilized  nations 
for  the  Bulgars.  Unlike  the  Bulgarians,  the  Greeks 
welcomed  war  correspondents  and  every  resource  of 
pubHcity  was  placed  at  their  disposal.  As  has  been 
shown  by  the  retractions  that  certain  European 
journals  have  been  forced  to  make,  the  foreign  cor- 
respondents were  spared  the  trouble  of  gathering 
and  writing  the  alleged  charges  of  Bulgarian  atroci- 
ties. Greek  press  agents  generously  did  this  work 
for  them. 

It  was  not  until  after  the  termination  of  the  sec- 
ond Balkan  war  that  the  Bulgars  knew  anything 
about  the  charges  that  the  Greeks  had  made,  as  the 
five  nations  with  whom  they  were  at  war  —  Greece, 
Servia,  Montenegro,  Rumania,  and  Turkey  —  cut 
off  all  postal  communications.  While  there  were 
practically  no  war  correspondents  in  Bulgaria  at 
the  time,  there  happened  to  be  a  few  Americans  and 
Europeans  who  were  spending  the  summer  in  the 
country.  The  author  was  one  of  these  foreigners.' 
He  had  reached  Bulgaria  the  week  before  the  out- 
break of  hostilities  and  he  was  one  of  the  few  non- 
combatants  who  succeeded  in  penetrating  to  the 
theatre  of  the  war.  He  was  with  the  Bulgarian  army 
and  was  in  sight  of  the  Greek  army;  and  both  be- 
fore and  after  the  armistice  that  terminated  the  sec- 
ond Balkan  war  he  visited  parts  of  Macedonia  that 


Alleged  Bulgarian  Atrocities  137 

had  been  occupied  by  both  the  Greek  and  Bulgarian 
forces. 

The  author  found  that  in  those  parts  of  Mace- 
donia through  which  the  Greek  army  had  marched 
the  country  was  devastated.  Grain-fields,  vineyards, 
and  all  other  sources  of  livelihood  had  been  des- 
troyed. In  his  travels  in  Bulgaria  and  in  excur- 
sions in  the  Rilo  and  Rhodope  mountains  he  met 
thousands  of  refugees  who  told  him  they  were  flee- 
ing from  the  atrocities  of  the  Greek  army.  Most 
of  the  refugees  were  women  and  children;  they  had 
walked  througli  the  mountains  for  many  days,  some 
of  them  for  twenty-five  days ;  most  of  them  fled  with 
only  the  clotliing  on  their  backs.  He  met  a  party 
of  refugees  in  the  mountains  near  Ichtiman.  It 
numbered  one  hundred  and  five  persons  when  they 
started  from  Macedonia,  but  in  a  march  of  twelve 
days,  twenty-five  of  the  children  and  one  old  man 
had  died. 

Bulgaria  is  separated  from  Macedonia  by  steep 
and  rugged  mountains  that  are  crossed  only  by 
mountain  trails  and  rude  roads.  This  is  a  scene  that 
the  author  was  forced  to  witness  practically  every 
day  that  he  spent  in  mountain  travel  during  July 
and  August :  A  party  of  refugees,  old  men,  women, 
and  children,  pausing  in  their  weary  journey  to  put 
into  the  earth  the  body  of  a  companion  that  had  died 
of  exhaustion;  a  trench  a  few  feet  deep  was  dug; 
tattered  garments  that  could  be  spared  by  some 
members  of  the  party  served  as  shroud  and  casket; 
a  few  handfuls  of  earth  covered  the  body;  two  twigs 
tied  together  with  grass  or  roots  provided  the  cross 


138  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

that  was  left  to  mark  the  grave,  and  the  homeless 
pilgrims  resumed  the  hard  march  towards  Bulgaria. 
The  author  interviewed  hundreds  of  these  refu- 
gees. Their  descriptions  of  atrocities  committed  by 
the  Greeks  were  heartrending,  and  w^ould  have  been 
incredible,  but  for  the  overwhelming  testimony  on  all 
sides.  This  is  the  gist  of  the  stories  they  told  the 
author:  We  were  urged  not  to  leave  our  homes, 
that  the  Greeks  would  do  us  no  harm.  But  when 
we  lingered  until  the  Greek  troops  arrived,  our  vil- 
lages were  surrounded,  the  cavalry  in  many  places 
being  employed  for  the  purpose,  and  all  those  who 
attempted  to  escape  were  indiscriminately  sabred, 
men,  women,  and  diildren.  In  cases  where  seeming- 
friendly  emissaries  sent  by  the  Greek  army  per- 
suaded the  villagers  to  linger,  no  mercy  was  shown. 
The  men  were  compelled  to  give  up  to  the  Greek 
soldiers  any  arms  that  they  possessed,  after  which 
they  were  shot.  The  pillagers  gave  themselves  up 
to  orgies  of  rape,  which  were  terminated  by  the  mur- 
der of  the  Bulgarian  women  they  had  ravished.  A 
few  escaped  to  tell  the  fate  of  the  villagers  that 
trusted  to  the  promised  mercy  of  the  Greek  emis- 
saries. There  was  general  agreement  in  their  ac- 
counts of  the  fiendish  conduct  of  the  Greek  soldiers. 
The  narrators  came  from  remote  parts  of  Mace- 
donia. They  had  left  their  villages  by  different 
routes  and  had  crossed  by  passes  in  the  Rilo  and 
Rhodope  mountains  that  were  miles  apart.  Un- 
thinkable as  were  the  tales  they  told,  collusion  was 
even  more  unthinkable.  The  report  of  the  commis- 
sion appointed  by  the  Hague  tribunal   to  examine 


Alleged  Bulgarian  Atrocities  139 

the  question  of  culpability  for  the  atrocities  com- 
mitted in  tlie  second  Balkan  war  verifies  the  talcs 
told  the  author  of  this  book  by  the  hundreds  of  ref- 
ugees that  he  interviewed. 

Although  the  author  had  been  in  Bulgaria  and 
Macedonia  throughout  the  second  Balkan  war;  had 
travelled  freely  about  the  country;  and,  as  above 
related,  had  been  told  by  eye-witnesses  of  outrages, 
tortures,  and  murders  committed  by  the  Greeks,  his 
attention  was  first  called  to  Greek  charges  of  Bul- 
garian atrocities  in  August.  He  was  visiting  the 
Eoman  Catholic  bisliop  at  Rustcliuk.  A  copy  of 
Le  Temps  of  Paris  had  somehow  come  into  the  hands 
of  the  prelate.  It  related  with  horrible  reality  the 
torture  and  murder  of  the  Greek  bishop  of  Do'iran 
by  the  Bulgarian  troops.  The  same  journal  gave 
an  account  of  the  murder  of  the  Greek  archbishop 
of  Seres  and  of  the  terrible  mutilation  of  the  eccle- 
siastic. His  ears  and  nose  had  been  cut  off;  his  eyes 
gouged  out  and  other  unmentionable  mutilations  had 
preceded  his  death.  Oorresi)ondents  of  Le  Temps 
stated  that  they  personally  participated  in  the  mili- 
tary funerals  that  were  given  the  two  ecclesiastics 
by  the  Greek  army;  and  that  they  had  attended 
requiem  masses  said  in  repose  of  the  souls  of  the 
bishop  and  the  archbishop.  L' Illustration  of  Paris 
reproduced  photographs  of  the  mutilated  and  mur- 
dered Greek  prelates. 

Through  the  quick  ^\'^t  of  King  Constantine  and 
his  press  agents  these  and  like  charges  of  atrocities 
against  the  soldiers  in  the  Bulgarian  army  were  tele- 
graphed to  the  leading  newspapers  not  only  of  Paris, 


140  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

but  of  Rome,  Berlin,  Vienna,  Brussels,  London, 
New  York  and  scores  of  other  large  cities  in  Europe 
and  America.  In  September  Le  Temps  was  forced 
to  publish  a  retraction.  A  mummery  of  the  kind 
had  really  taken  place  for  the  benefit  of  its  corre- 
spondents, but  the  ecclesiastics  referred  to  in  the 
published  article  in  July  were  alive  and  well !  The 
recently  published  report  of  the  Carnegie  commis- 
sion says  of  the  Greek  bishop  of  Doiran:  ''  We  saw 
him  vigorous  and  apparently  alive  two  months  after- 
wards "  (that  is,  after  the  reported  murder  and 
burial) ;  and  concerning  the  torture  and  murder  of 
the  archbishop  of  Seres,  the  report  remarks:  '*  This 
distressing  experience  in  no  way  caused  this  prelate 
to  interrupt  his  duties,  whicli  he  still  performs." 
The  murder  of  the  bishop  of  Kavala  was  another 
tale  of  atrocity  reported  by  the  Greeks,  and  for  the 
repose  of  whose  soul  requiem  masses  were  cele- 
brated. The  Carnegie  commission  report  says  of 
him:  **  His  flock  welcomed  him  back  to  them  while 
we  were  in  Salonika."  ^ 

The  story  of  the  archbishop  of  Seres,  with  a  pho- 
tograph of  a  murdered  Bulgar  stripped  and  re- 
clothed  with  Greek  ecclesiastical  vestments,  was 
sent  to  several  papers  in  the  United  States.  The 
name  of  the  Reverend  E.  B.  Haskell,  an  American 
missionary  at  Salonika,  was  appended  to  the  account 
as  an  eye-witness  of  the  atrocities  at  Seres.  The 
Christian  Herald  of  New  York  published   the  ac- 


'  Repori  of  the  International  Commission  to  Inquire  into  the  Cause 
and  Effects  of  the  Balkan  Wars.  Carnegie  Endowment  for  International 
Peace.    Washington,  D.  C,  1914. 


Alleged  Bulgarian  Atrocities  141 

count.  It  was  subsequently  found  that  the  signature 
of  Mr.  Haskell  was  a  forgery.  He  had  been  induced 
by  the  Greeks  to  sign  a  petition  for  relief  for  the 
refugees,  after  which  his  signature  was  adroitly 
copied  and  appended  to  the  article  in  question. 

When  Bulgaria  learned  of  the  charges  that  had 
been  made  by  King  Constantine  and  the  newspaper 
correspondents  that  were  with  the  Greek  army  she 
asked  for  the  appointment  of  an  international  com- 
mission to  make  investigations  of  all  atrocities 
committed  by  the  belligerents  in  the  second  Balkan 
war.  The  Hague  tribunal  offered  to  select  such  a 
commission  and  the  Carnegie  EndowTiient  for  Inter- 
national Peace  to  finance  it.  Baron  d'Estournelles 
de  Constant,  senator  of  France  and  the  French  rep- 
resentative to  the  first  and  second  Hague  confer- 
ences, was  selected  as  chairman  of  the  commission 
of  inquiry.  His  associates  on  the  commission  were 
Dr.  Joseph  Redlich,  professor  of  jurisprudence  in 
the  University  of  Vienna;  Dr.  Walther  Shucking, 
professor  of  law  in  the  University  of  Marburg,  Ger- 
many; Dr.  Henry  Noel  Brailsford,  editor  of  The 
Nation  (London)  and  the  best  European  authority 
on  the  races  of  Macedonia;  Professor  Paul  Milou- 
kov,  a  member  of  the  Russian  duraa;  Professor 
Samuel  Train  Dutton,  of  Teacliers'  College,  Colum- 
bia University,  New  York  City,  and  Francis  W. 
Hirst,  editor  of  The  Economist,  of  London. 

The  report  of  the  Carnegie  commission  has  just 
been  published  (May,  1914).  Herbert  L.  Bridgmau 
in  an  editorial  in  a  leading  American  journal  says 
of  it: 


142 Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

*'  The  report  of  the  Carnegie  Balkan  Commission 
is  masterly  and  convincing.  For  many  reasons  it  will 
make  a  profound  impression  throughout  the  world 
and  become  historic.  Bulgaria  has  waited  long  for 
her  vindication ;  but,  at  last,  it  has  come  and  is  em- 
phatic. Betrayed,  attacked,  isolated  and  traduced 
by  her  treacherous  allies,  she  asked  investigation 
and  confidently  awaited  the  verdict,  which  rests 
upon  exhaustive  inquiry  and  bears  every  evidence 
that  it  is  both  competent  and  impartial.  It  should 
be  borne  in  mind,  too,  that  the  commission  presents 
the  first  opportunity  to  see  the  endo\\Tnent  in  action, 
to  witness  the  transmutation  of  ideas,  theories  and 
capital  into  actual  results,  and  it  may  be  frankly  ad- 
mitted that  the  outcome  more  than  justifies  the  most 
sanguine  hopes  of  its  founders  and  friends  and  gives 
promise  of  a  new  and  powerful  force  in  shaping 
future  events  and  opinions. 

"  Here  again  Bulgaria  overplayed  her  enemies, 
and  by  taking  the  initiative  in  a  line  of  action  alto- 
gether new  and  which  may  become  an  important 
precedent,  commands  universal  respect  and  interna- 
tional good  will.  Greece  slammed  its  door  in  the  face 
of  the  commission  on  the  ground  that  it  had  no  juris- 
diction. Servia  gave  it  the  '  frozen  face  '  of  scantiest 
courtesy  and  only  in  Bulgaria  was  it  welcomed,  and 
evidence  of  all  sorts,  oflicial,  secret  and  personal, 
placed  at  its  command.  Greek  partisans  and  defend- 
ers, who  have  carried  on  in  the  press  and  capitals  of 
Europe  and  America  a  campaign  which  for  virulence 
and  mendacity  was  a  fit  counterpart  to  the  orgy  of 
blood,  lust,  arson,  and  pillage  in  Macedonia,  trans- 


Alleged  Bulgarian  Atrocities  143 

gressing  even  outward  courtesy  concerning  the  visit 
of  Queen  Eleanora  of  Bulgaria  to  America,  will  now 
have  something  else  to  engage  their  attention,  and 
it  will  be  interesting  to  see  whether  they  can  resist 
light  and  truth  as  violently  as  they  defend  and  pro- 
mulgate their  opposites. 

*'  Interest  in  the  report  centres  on  two  points  — 
responsibility  for  the  war  of  June  and  July  between 
the  allies,  and  for  its  consequent  reign  of  terror  in 
Macedonia  —  and  on  these  the  testimony  is  full  and 
conclusive.  That  Servia  and  Greece  deliberately 
planned  and  negotiated  to  strike  Bulgaria  and  to 
repudiate  the  treaties  of  1912  is  indisputable,  and 
while  Bulgaria  did  actually  fire  the  first  shot  on  the 
Bregalnitza,  as  did  the  Americans  at  Lexington,  it 
has  never  been  held  against  them  that  they  brought 
on  the  Revolution.  Tlie  report  is  particularly  clear 
and  explicit  on  this  point  and  its  narrative  of  the 
negotiations,  for  the  first  time  plainly  and  consecu- 
tively set  forth,  are  a  most  valuable  contribution  to 
history. 

"As  to  the  Macedonian  horrors  the  report  is 
impartial  and  emphatic.  In  Seres,  Doxato,  Doiran 
and  other  towns  during  the  interval  between  the 
withdrawal  of  the  Bulgarian  regulars  and  the  Greek 
occupation  riot  and  lawlessness  prevailed,  but  when 
the  Greek  troops  came  tlie  reign  of  terror  began. 
To  those  who  followed  the  tale,  as  it  was  reported 
at  the  time,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  commission, 
after  personal  examination,  accepts  as  genuine  the 
letters  captured  from  the  Greek  soldiers,  boasting 
of  their  unspeakable  atrocities  by  order  of  their 


144  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

officers,  gives  credence  to  the  reports  of  barbarities 
to  the  wounded,  ranrder  of  prisoners  of  war  and  bru- 
talities to  others,  of  firing  on  Red  Cross  and  neu- 
tral flags,  and,  in  short,  declares  that  all  the  crimes 
which  shocked  humanity  and  challenged  the  credu- 
lity of  the  world  are  established  by  indisputable 
evidence.  Details  are  given  in  abundance,  not  for 
the  sake  of  sensational  effect,  but  to  demonstrate 
the  awful,  repulsive  truth,  and  it  will  be  impos- 
sible to  break  the  force  of  this  crushing  indict- 
ment. 

"  But  the  work  of  the  commission  and  its  report 
are  much  broader  and  deeper  than  disposition  of  the 
two  immediate  propositions  which  called  it  into  exist- 
ence. Balkan  history,  religions,  politics,  and  social 
orders  were  all  within  its  competent  and  impartial 
review;  its  report  is  a  model  of  clear  and  logical 
discussion  of  these  highly  intricate  and  complex  top- 
ics, and  will  at  once  take  high  nnd  permanent  rank 
as  a  masterpiece  in  this  crowded  field  of  Uterature. 
Besides  its  resume  of  the  past  and  analysis  of  the 
present  it  throws  light  forward,  suggesting  a  com- 
mission to  compel  observance  by  belligerents  of  arti- 
cles of  war  to  which  they  have  subscribed,  repudi- 
ated and  violated,  as  in  the  Balkan  wars,  and  fore- 
shadows the  path  of  peace  and  prosperity  in  under- 
standing and  solidarity  among  nations  antagonistic 
in  race,  religion,  and  social  order.  All  these  are  vast 
and  far-reaching  questions,  but  the  commission  han- 
dles them  with  courage  and  sagacity,  as  men  who 
are  honestly  striving  to  advance  the  day  and  estab- 
lish peace  on  earth  and  good  wdll  to  men.    It  is  not 


Alleged  Bulgarian  Atrocities  145 

too  much  to  say  that  the  commission,  the  report  and 
the  endowment  responsible  for  them  have  laid  the 
world  under  large  and  lasting  obligations."^ 

The  Carnegie  commission  having  shown  that  the 
charges  made  by  King  Constantine  with  reference 
to  the  torture  and  murder  of  the  Greek  bishops  of 
Doiran  and  Kavala  and  the  archbishop  of  Seres 
had  no  foundation  in  fact,  it  remains  to  ask  what 
they  found  with  reference  to  Greek  charges  of  Bul- 
garian murder  and  pillage  at  Doxato,  Seres,  and 
Demir  Hissar.  For  here,  as  in  the  charges  with 
reference  to  the  Greek  prelates,  names  and  dates 
are  given;  and  as  in  the  cases  above  examined, 
the  charges  are  specific.  It  was  the  specific  nature 
of  the  charges  that  led  many  Europeans  and  Amer- 
icans to  entertain  the  idea  that  the  Bulgars  must 
have  pillaged,  murdered,  and  raped  as  the  Greek 
accounts  charged. 

The  Carnegie  commission  made  an  exhaustive 
and  impartial  investigation  with  reference  to  al- 
leged atrocities  committed  by  Bulgarians  at  Doxato, 
Seres,  and  Demir  Hissar.  It  says:  "In  forming 
an  opinion  upon  the  series  of  excesses  which  marked 
the  Bulgarian  withdrawal  from  southeastern  Mace- 
donia," it  is  necessary  to  recall  the  fact  that  the  Bul- 
garians were  here  occupying  a  country  w^hose  pop- 
ulation is  mainly  Greek  and  Turkish.  The  Bulga- 
rian garrisons  were  small,  and  they  found  them- 
selves on  the  outbreak  of  the  second  war  in  a  hostile 
countrj'.  The  Greek  population  of  these  regions  is 
wealthy  and  intensely  patriotic.     In  several  Greek 

*  Brooklyn  Standard-Union,  the  18th  of  May,  1914. 


146  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

centres  insurgent  organizations  {andartes)  existed. 
Arms  had  been  collected,  and  some  experienced 
guerilla  chiefs  were  believed  to  be  in  hiding,  and 
ready  to  lead  the  local  population.  All  of  this  in 
existing  conditions  was  creditable  to  Greek  patri- 
otism; their  race  was  at  war  with  Bulgarians,  and 
the  more  enterprising  and  courageous  among  them 
intended  to  take  their  share  as  auxiliaries  of  the 
Greek  army  in  driving  the  Bulgarians  from  their 
country.  From  a  nationalist  standpoint,  this  was 
morally  their  right  and  some  might  even  say  their 
duty.  But  it  is  equally  clear  that  the  Bulgarians, 
wherever  they  found  themselves  opposed  by  the 
armed  civil  population,  had  also  a  right  to  take  steps 
to  protect  themselves.  The  steps  which  they  elected 
to  take  in  some  places  grossly  exceeded  the  limits 
of  legitimate  defence  or  allowable  reprisal." 

With  reference  to  the  Doxato  affair,  the  commis- 
sion finds  that  five  hundred  persons  (not  two  thou- 
sand as  stated  in  the  Greek  charges)  were  killed. 
The  depositions  obtained  "  leave  no  doubt  in  the 
mind  of  the  Commission  that  the  Greeks  had  organ- 
ized a  formidable  military  movement  among  the 
local  population ;  that  Doxato  was  one  of  its  cen- 
tres; and  that  several  hundreds  of  armed  men  were 
concentrated  there.  Provocation  had  been  given  not 
only  by  the  wanton  and  barbarous  slaughter  by 
Greeks  of  Moslem  non-combatants,  but  also  by  a  suc- 
cessful attack  at  Doxato  upon  a  Bulgarian  convoy. 
There  was,  therefore,  justification  for  the  order 
given  from  the  Bulgarian  headquarters  to  attack  the 
Greek  insurgents  concentrated  in  Doxato." 


Alleged  Bulgarian  Atrocities  147 

There  was  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  investi- 
gators that  the  massacre  was  the  work  of  the  Turks, 
and  that  the  charges  made  by  the  Greeks  that  the 
Bulgars  had  given  the  Tnrks  orders  to  massacre  the 
Greeks  were  baseless.  "  But  some  part  of  the  re- 
sponsibility for  the  slaughter  falls,  none  the  less, 
upon  the  Bulgarian  officers.  They  armed  the  Turks 
and  left  them  in  control  of  the  village.  They  must 
have  known  what  would  follow.  The  employment  of 
Turkish  bashi-bozouks  as  allies  against  defenceless 
Christian  villagers  was  an  offence  of  which  Greeks, 
Servians,  and  Bulgarians  were  all  guilty  upon  occa- 
sion. No  officer  in  the  Balkans  could  take  this  step 
Avithout  foreseeing  that  massacre  must  result  from 
it. 

*'  It  is  fair  none  Ihe  less  to  note  that  the  Bulgari- 
ans were  in  a  difficult  position.  They  could  not  oc- 
cupy the  village  permanently,  for  they  were  threat- 
ened by  Greek  columns  marching  from  several  quar- 
ters. To  leave  the  Turks  unarmed  was  to  expose 
them  to  Greek  excesses.  To  arm  the  Turks  was,  on 
the  other  hand,  to  condemn  ihe  Greek  inhabitants  to 
massacre.  A  culpable  error  of  judgment  was  com- 
mitted in  circumstances  which  admitted  only  of  a 
choice  of  evils.  "Wliile  emphasizing  the  heavy  re- 
sponsibility which  falls  on  the  Bulgarian  officers  for 
this  catastrophe,  wo  do  not  hesitate  to  conclude  thai 
the  massacre  at  Doxato  was  a  Turkish  and  not  a 
Bulgarian  atrocity." 

The  findings  of  the  commission  with  reference  to 
the  charges  of  Bulgarian  atrocities  at  Seres  are 
even  more  damaging  to  the  Greeks.    *'  Seres  is  the 


148  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

largest  town  of  the  interior  of  eastern  Macedonia. 
The  tohacco  trade  had  brought  considerable  wealth 
to  its  thirty  thousand  inhabitants ;  and  it  possessed 
in  its  churches,  schools  and  hospitals  the  outward 
signs  of  the  public  spirit  of  its  Greek  community. 
The  villages  around  it  are  Bulgarian  to  the  north 
and  west,  but  a  rural  Greek  population  approaches 
it  from  the  south  and  east.  The  town  itself  is  pre- 
dominately Greek,  with  the  usual  Jewish  and  Turk- 
ish admixture.  The  Bulgarians  formed  but  a  small 
minority.  From  October  to  June  the  town  was 
under  a  Bulgarian  occupation;  and,  as  the  second 
war  drew  near,  the  relations  of  the  garrison  and  the 
citizens  became  increasingly  hostile.  The  Bulgarian 
authorities  believed  that  the  Greeks  were  arming 
secretly,  that  andartes  (Greek  insurgents)  were  con- 
cealed in  the  town,  and  that  a  revolt  was  in  prepara- 
tion. Five  notables  of  the  town  were  arrested  on 
July  1  with  the  idea  of  intimidating  the  population. 
On  Friday,  July  4,  the  defeat  of  the  Bulgarian  forces 
to  the  south  of  Seres  rendered  the  position  unten- 
able, and  arrangements  were  made  for  the  evacua- 
tion of  the  town.  General  Voulkoff,  the  governor 
of  Macedonia,  and  his  staff  left  on  the  evening  of 
Saturday,  July  5.  The  retirement  was  hastily 
planned  and  ill  executed.  There  is  evidence  from 
Greeks  and  Turks,  and  from  one  of  the  American 
residents,  Mr.  Moore,  that  some  of  the  troops  found 
time  to  pillage  before  withdrawing.  On  the  other 
hand,  stores  of  Bulgarian  munitions,  including  rifles, 
were  abandoned  in  the  town,  and  some  of  the  ar- 
chives were  also  left  behind.    We  gather  that  there 


Alleged  Bulgarian  Atrocities 149 

was  some  conflict  of  authority  among  the  superior 
Bulgarian  officers. 

*'  The  plain  fact  is  that  at  this  central  point  the 
organization  and  discipline  of  the  Bulgarian  troops 
broke  down.  Some  excesses,  as  one  would  expect, 
undoubtedly  occurred,  but  the  Greek  evidence  on  this 
matter  is  untrustworthy.  Commandant  Moustakoff 
believes  that  the  notables  who  had  been  arrested 
were  released.  We  find,  on  the  other  hand,  in  the 
semi-official  Greek  pamphlet  Atrocites  Bulgares,  the 
statement  that  the  bodies  of  four  Greek  notables  were 
found  outside  the  town  killed  by  bayonet  thrusts; 
among  them  was  the  corpse  of  the  director  of  the 
Orient  bank.  For  this  assertion  the  authority  of  the 
Italian  and  Austrian  consuls  general  of  Salonika  is 
claimed.  The  member  of  our  commisvsion  who  vis- 
ited Seres  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  this  gentle- 
man, Mr.  Ghine,  alive,  well,  and  unharmed,  and  en- 
joyed his  hospitality.  Such  discoveries  as  this  are 
a  warning  that  even  official  Greek  statements  re- 
garding these  events  must  be  subjected  to  careful 
scrutiny. 

"  The  main  body  of  the  Bulgarian  garrison,  with 
the  headquarters,  withdrew  from  Seres  on  Sat- 
urday, July  5.  A  panic  followed,  and  a  squadron 
of  dismounted  Bulgarian  cavalry  paraded  the  town 
to  maintain  order.  The  Greek  irregulars  and  armed 
citizens  were  already  under  arms,  and  fired  from 
some  of  the  houses  at  this  squadron.  It  camped  that 
night  outside  the  town,  and  entered  it  again  on  Sun- 
day, but  apparently  without  attempting  to  maintain 
complete  control.     On  Monday,  July  7  (if  not  on 


150  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Sunday),  the  effective  authority  passed  into  the 
liands  of  the  local  Greeks.  The  archbishop  was 
recognized  as  governor  of  the  town,  and  at  his  pal- 
ace there  sat  in  permanence  a  commission  of  the 
local  inhabitants.  Thirty  armed  Greeks  wearing  the 
evzone  (highlander)  uniform,  who  were,  however, 
probably  irregulars  (andartes),  had  arrived  in 
Seres,  and  one  witness  states  that  they  were  under 
the  command  of  Captain  Doukas.  A  Russian  doctor 
in  the  Bulgarian  sanitary  service,  who  was  left  in 
the  town,  heard  on  Monday  a  Greek  priest  summon- 
ing the  inhabitants  to  the  bishop's  palace,  where 
arms  were  distributed,  first  to  the  Greeks,  and  later 
to  the  Turks.  From  Monday  morning  to  Thursday 
evening  these  Greek  irregulars  and  the  citizen  mil- 
itia which  they  organized  were  in  possession  of  the 
town.  Tlirice  they  were  threatened  by  small  Bul- 
garian detachments,  which  returned  and  skirmished 
on  the  hills  outside  the  town  and  at  the  distant  rail- 
way station.  But  these  Bulgarian  scouts  were  not  in 
sufficient  force  to  enter  the  town.  A  telegram  dis- 
patched on  Thursday  by  the  archbishop  to  King 
Constantine  begs  him  to  hasten  to  occupy  the  to\vn, 
which  is,  he  says,  defending  itself  successfully 
against  the  attacks  of  tlie  Bulgarians.  He  mentions 
that  he  is  governing  the  town,  and  states  that  it  has 
been  abandoned  for  a  week  by  the  Bulgarian  author- 
ities. He  fears,  however,  that  the  citizens'  power  of 
resistance  may  soon  be  exhausted.  These  rather 
aimless  Bulgarian  attacks  must  have  contributed  to 
excite  the  local  Greeks,  and  to  inflame  a  spirit  of 
vengeance. 


Alleged  Bulgarian  Atrocities 151 

'^  The  main  concern  of  the  archbishop's  Greek 
militia  during  this  week  was  apparently  to  hunt  down 
the  Bulgarian  population  within  the  town  and  in 
some  of  the  neighbouring  villages.  It  is  conceivable 
that  this  measure  may  have  been  dictated  in  the  first 
instance  by  the  fear  that  the  small  Bulgarian  mi- 
nority inside  Seres  would  cooperate  with  the  enemy 
who  attacked  it  from  without.  An  armed  Greek  mob 
followed  a  few  uniformed  men  from  house  to  house, 
threatening  the  Bulgarians  and  all  who  should  assist 
them  to  hide.  Their  houses  were  pillaged  and  their 
wives  ill  treated,  while  the  men  were  arrested  and 
taken  singly  or  in  batches  to  the  bishop's  palace; 
there  they  were  brought  before  a  commission  of  lay- 
men over  whom  a  priest  presided.  Whatever  money 
they  possessed  was  taken  from  them  by  this  priest, 
and  the  only  question  asked  about  them  was,  whether 
they  were  or  were  not  Bulgarians.  Tliis  process  was 
Avitnessed  by  Dr.  Klugmann,  and  the  testimony  of 
this  Russian  doctor  entirely  confirms  that  of  our 
Bulgarian  peasant  witnesses.  From  the  bishopric 
the  prisoners  were  taken  to  the  neighbouring  Greek 
girls'  high  school.  In  the  school  the}''  were  closely 
confined  in  several  rooms  by  fifties  and  sixties. 
Fresh  batches  arrived  continuously  from  the  town 
and  from  the  villages,  until  the  total  number  of 
impiisoned  Bulgarians  reached  two  hundred  or  two 
hundred  and  fifty.  The  gaolers  were  in  part  citizens 
of  Seres,  some  of  whom  can  be  named,  and  in  part 
uniformed  irregulars.  From  the  first  they  behaved 
with  gross  cruelty.  The  prisoners  were  tightly  bound 
and  beaten  with  the  butt  ends  of  rifles.    The  plan  of 


152  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

■  ■ 

the  gaolers  was  apparently  to  slaughter  their  pris- 
oners in  batches,  and  they  were  led  two  by  two  to 
an  upper  room,  where  they  were  killed,  usually  by 
repeated  wounds  in  the  head  and  neck  inflicted  vdih 
a  butcher's  knife  or  a  Martini  bayonet.  Each  of 
the  butchers  aimed  at  accounting  for  fourteen  men, 
which  was  apparently  the  number  which  each  could 
bury  during  the  night.  The  massacre  went  on  in 
this  leisurely  way  until  Friday,  the  11th.  The  pris- 
oners included  a  few  captured  Bulgarian  soldiers, 
a  few  peasants  taken  with  arms  in  their  hands,  and 
at  least  one  local  Bulgarian,  Christo  Dimitroff,  who 
was  known  to  be  an  active  associate  of  the  Bulgarian 
bands.  The  immense  majority  were,  however,  in- 
offensive tradesmen  or  peasants  whose  only  offence 
was  that  they  were  Bulgarians.  Among  them  were 
four  women,  who  were  killed  with  the  rest.  The 
only  mitigating  circumstance  is  that  five  lads  were 
released  in  pity  for  their  youth,  after  seeing  their 
fathers  killed  before  their  eyes.  We  are  unwilling 
to  dwell  on  the  detailed  barbarities  of  this  butchery, 
of  which  more  than  enough  is  recorded  in  the  appen- 
dices. 

**  We  must  here  anticip.ate  a  part  of  the  narrative 
to  explain  that  in  the  early  morning  of  Friday,  July 
11,  a  Bulgarian  regular  force  with  cavalry  and  light 
artillery  reached  Seres,  engaged  the  militia  outside 
the  town,  defeated  it,  and  began  toward  noon  to  pen- 
etrate into  the  town  itself.  There  were  still  sixty  or 
seventy  of  the  Bulgarian  prisoners  alive,  and  their 
gaolers,  alarmed  by  the  sound  of  cannon  in  the  dis- 
tance, resolved  to  finish  their  work  rapidly.     Two 


Alleged  Bulgarian  Atrocities  153 

at  least  of  the  Bulgarian  prisoners  contrived  to  over- 
power the  sentinels  and  escaped.  Some  of  them, 
however,  were  bound  and  others  were  too  enfeebled 
or  too  terrified  to  save  themselves.  They  were  led 
to  the  slaughter  by  fours  and  fives,  but  the  killing 
this  day  was  ineiTicient,  and  at  least  ten  of  the  pris- 
oners fell  among  the  heaps  of  corpses,  severely 
wounded  indeed,  but  still  alive.  They  recovered 
consciousness  in  the  early  afternoon,  to  realize  that 
their  gaolers  had  fled,  that  the  town  was  on  fire, 
and  that  the  Bulgarian  troops  were  not  far  distant. 
Ten  of  them  struggled  out  of  the  school,  and  eight 
had  strength  enough  to  reach  safety  and  their  coun- 
trymen. 

''  The  commission  saw  three  of  these  fugitives 
from  the  Seres  massacre,  who  all  bore  the  fresh 
scars  of  their  wounds.  These  wounds,  chiefly  in  the 
head  and  neck,  could  have  been  received  only  at  close 
quarters.  They  were  such  wounds  as  a  butcher 
would  inflict,  who  was  attempting  to  slaughter  men 
as  he  would  slaughter  sheep.  The  e^adeuce  of  these 
three,  given  separately,  was  mutually  consistent. 
We  questioned  a  fourth  witness,  the  lad  Blagoi 
Petrov,  who  was  released.  We  were  also  supplied 
with  the  written  depositions,  backed  by  photographs 
showing  their  injuries,  of  three  other  wounded  sur- 
vivors of  the  massacre,  who  had  found  refuge  in 
distant  parts  of  Bulgaria  which  we  were  unable  to 
visit.  Among  these  was  George  Beleff,  a  Protestant, 
to  whose  honesty  and  high  character  the  American 
missionaries  of  Samokov  paid  a  liigh  tribute.  The 
written  depositions  of  the  two  men  who  escaped  by 


154  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

rushing  the  sentinels  afforded  another  element  of 
confirmation.  Dr.  Klugmann's  evidence,  given  to 
us  in  person,  is  valuable  as  a  description  of  the 
way  in  which  the  Bulgarian  civilians  of  Seres  were 
hunted  down  and  arrested.  The  commission  finds 
this  evidence  irresistible,  and  is  forced  to  conclude 
that  a  massacre  of  Bulgarians  to  the  number  of 
about  two  hundred,  most  of  them  inoffensive  and 
non-combatant  civilians,  was  carried  out  in  Seres 
by  the  Greek  militia  with  revolting  cruelt5^  The 
victims  were  arrested  and  imprisoned  under  the 
authority  of  the  archbishop.  It  is  possible  that  he 
may  have  been  misled  by  his  subordinates,  and  that 
they  may  have  disobeyed  his  orders.  But  the  fact 
that  when  he  visited  the  prison  on  Thursday,  he 
assured  the  survivors  that  their  lives  would  be 
spared,  suggests  that  he  knew  that  they  were  in 
danger. 

*'  The  last  stage  of  the  episode  of  Seres  began  on 
Friday,  the  11th.  Partly  because  they  had  left  large 
stores  of  munitions  in  the  town,  partly  because 
rumours  of  the  schoolhouse  massacre  had  reached 
them,  the  Bulgarians  were  anxious  to  reoccupy  the 
town.  Their  small  detachments  had  been  repulsed, 
and  it  was  with  a  battalion  and  a  half  of  infantry, 
a  squadron  of  horse  and  four  guns,  that  Command- 
ant Kirpikoff  marched  against  Seres  from  Zernovo, 
and  at  da^vn  approached  the  hills  which  command 
it.  He  overcame  the  resistance  of  the  Greek  militia 
posted  to  the  number  of  about  one  thousand  men 
on  the  hills,  without  much  diflieulty.  In  attempting 
toward  noon  to  penetrate  into  the  town,  his  troops 


Alleged  Bulgarian  Atrocities  155 

met  with  a  heavy  iire  from  several  large  houses  held 
by  the  Greeks.  Against  these  he  finally  used  his 
guns.  From  noon  onward  the  town  was  in  flames 
at  several  points.  The  commandant  does  not  admit 
that  his  shells  caused  the  conflagration,  but  in  this 
matter  probability  is  against  him.  One  witness, 
George  Beleff,  states  that  the  schoolhouse  was  set 
on  fire  by  a  shell.  The  commandant  states  further 
that  the  Greeks  themselves,  who  were  as  reckless 
as  the  Bulgarians,  fired  certain  houses  wdiich  con- 
tained their  own  stores  of  munitions.  Tt  is  probable 
that  the  Bulgarians  also  set  on  fire  the  buildings 
in  which  their  own  stores  were  housed.  Both  Greeks 
and  Bulgarians  state  that  a  high  wind  was  blowing 
during  the  afternoon.  Seres  was  a  crowded  town, 
closely  built  in  the  Oriental  fashion,  with  houses 
constructed  mainly  of  wood.  The  summer  had  been 
hot  and  dry.  Tt  is  not  surprising  that  the  town 
blazed.  We  must  give  due  weight  to  the  belief  uni- 
versally held  by  the  Greek  inhabitants  that  the  town 
was  deliberately  set  on  fire  by  the  Bulgarian  troops. 
The  inhabitants  for  the  most  part  had  fled,  and  few 
of  them  saw  what  happened ;  but  one  eye-witness 
states  that  the  soldiers  used  ])etroleum  and  acted 
on  a  sj^stematic  plan.  This  witness  is  a  local  Turk 
who  had  taken  service  under  the  Bulgarians  as  a 
police  officer  while  they  were  still  at  war  with  his 
country.  That  is  not  a  record  wliich  inspires  con- 
fidence. On  the  other  hand,  Dr.  Yankoff,  a  legal 
official  who  accompanied  the  Bulgarian  troops, 
states  that  he  personally  made  efforts  to  check  the 
flames. 


156  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

' '  The  general  impression  conveyed  by  all  the  evi- 
dence before  us,  and  especially  that  of  the  Russian 
Dr.  Laznev,  is  that  the  Bulgarian  troops  were  hotly 
engaged  throughout  the  afternoon,  first  with  the 
Greek  militia  and  then  with  the  main  Greek  army. 
The  Greek  forces  advanced  in  large  numbers  and 
with  artillery  from  two  directions  to  relieve  the  town, 
and  compelled  the  Bulgarians  to  retreat  before  sun- 
down. Their  shells  also  fell  in  the  town.  The  Bulga- 
rians were  not  in  undisturbed  possession  for  so  much 
as  an  hour,  and  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  they  can 
have  had  leisure  for  much  systematic  incendiarism. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  indisputable  that  some  Bul- 
garian villagers  who  followed  the  troops  did  delib- 
erately burn  houses,  and  that  a  mob  comprised 
partly  of  Bulgarians  and  partly  of  Turks  pillaged 
and  burned  while  the  troops  were  fighting.  It  is 
probable  that  some  of  the  Bulgarian  troops,  who 
seem  to  have  been,  as  at  Doxato,  a  very  mixed 
force  which  included  some  Pomak  (Moslem)  levies, 
joined  in  this  work.  The  Bulgarians  knew  that  the 
Greeks  were  burning  their  \nllages,  and  some  of 
them  had  heard  of  the  schoolhouse  massacre.  Any 
soldiers  in  the  world  would  think  of  vengeance  under 
these  conditions. 

**  To  sum  up,  we  must  conclude  that  the  Greek 
quarter  of  Seres  was  burned  by  the  Bulgarians  in 
the  course  of  their  attack  on  the  town,  but  the  evi- 
dence before  us  does  not  suffice  to  establish  the  Greek 
accusation,  that  the  burning  was  a  part  of  the  plan 
conceived  by  the  Bulgarian  headquarters.  But  un- 
questionably the  whole  conduct  both  of  the  attack 


Alleged  Bulgarian  Atrocities 157 

and  of  the  defence  contributed  to  bring  about  the 
conflagration,  and  some  of  the  attacking  force  did  un- 
doubtedly burn  houses.  There  is,  in  short,  no  trust- 
worthy evidence  of  premeditated  or  oflficial  incen- 
diarism, but  the  responsibility  for  the  burning  of 
Seres  none  the  less  falls  mainly  upon  the  Bulgarian 
army.  The  result  was  the  destruction  of  four  thou- 
sand out  of  six  thousand  houses,  the  impoverishment 
of  a  large  population,  and  in  all  likelihood  the  pain- 
ful death  of  many  of  the  aged  and  infirm,  who  could 
not  make  good  their  escape.  The  episode  of  Seres 
is  deeply  discreditable  alike  to  Greeks  and  Bulga- 
rians." 

It  remains  to  notice  the  charges  of  Bulgarian 
atrocities  at  Demir  Hissar;  and  the  finding  of  the 
Carnegie  commission  on  this  count  is  of  special 
importance  because  Demir  Ilissar  was  used  as  a 
pretext  for  the  reprisals  of  the  Greek  army  at  the 
expense  of  the  Bulgarian  population  in  accordance 
with  the  order  from  King  Constantine  already 
quoted.  An  extremely  damaging  bit  of  evidence 
brought  out  in  the  commission's  report  is  the  fact 
that  the  Greek  atrocities  against  defenceless  Bulgars 
'^  began  in  and  around  Kukush  some  days  before 
the  Bulgarian  provocation  at  Demir  Hissar!  " 

The  commission  concludes  that  excesses  were 
committed  by  both  Greeks  and  Bulgarians  at  Demir 
Hissar.  "  The  Bulgarian  army,  beaten  in  the  south, 
was  fleeing  in  some  disorder  through  Demir  Ilissar 
to  the  narrow  defile  of  the  Struma  above  this  little 
town.  The  Greeks  of  the  town,  seeing  their  con- 
fusion, determined  to  profit  by  it,  took  up  arms  and 


158 Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

fell  upon  the  Bulgarian  wounded,  the  baggage  trains, 
and  the  fugitive  peasants.  They  rose  too  soon  and 
exposed  themselves  to  Bulgarian  reprisals.  When 
the  Greek  army  at  length  marched  in,  it  found  a 
scene  of  carnage  and  horror.  The  Greek  inhabitants 
had  slaughtered  defenceless  Bulgarians,  and  the 
Bulgarian  rear-guard  had  exacted  vengeance. 

"  The  case  of  the  bishop  has  naturally  attracted 
attention.  Of  the  four  Greek  bishops  who  were  said 
to  have  been  killed  in  Macedonia,  he  alone  was  in 
fact  killed.  There  is  nothing  improbable  in  the  Bul- 
garian statement  that  he  was  the  leader  of  the  Greek 
insurgents,  nor  even  in  the  further  allegation  that 
he  fired  the  first  shot.  The  bishops  of  Macedonia, 
whether  Greeks  or  Bulgarians,  are  always  the  rec- 
ognized jDolitical  heads  of  their  community;  they 
are  often  in  close  touch  with  the  rebel  bands,  and 
a  young  and  energetic  man  will  sometimes  place 
himself  openly  at  their  head.  The  Bulgarians  allege 
that  the  bishop,  a  man  of  forty  years  of  age,  fired 
from  his  window  at  their  troops.  The  Greeks  admit 
that  he  '  resisted  '  arrest.  If  it  is  true  that  he  was 
found  with  a  revolver,  from  which  some  cartridges 
had  been  fired,  there  was  technical  justification  for 
regarding  him  as  a  combatant.  The  hard  law  of 
war  sanctions  the  execution  of  civilians  taken  with 
arms  in  their  hands.  There  is  no  reason  to  reject 
the  Greek  statement  that  his  body  was  mutilated, 
dead  or  alive.  But  the  Greek  assertion  that  this  was 
done  by  a  certain  Captain  Bostanov  is  adequately 
met  by  the  Bulgarian  denial  that  any  such  officer 
exists. 


Alleged  Bulgarian  Atrocities  159 

"  Some  of  the  men  in  the  Greek  list  of  dead  were 
presumably  armed  inhabitants  who  engaged  in  the 
street  fighting.  Nine  are  young  men  of  twenty  and 
thereabouts  and  some  are  manual  labourers.  Clearly 
these  are  not  '  notables  '  collected  for  a  deliberate 
massacre.  On  the  otlier  hand,  six  are  men  of  sixty 
years  and  upwards,  who  are  not  likely  to  have  been 
combatants.  These  leaders  of  the  Greek  community 
were  evidently  arrested  on  suspicion  of  fomenting 
the  outbreak  and  summarily  '  executed.'  It  was  a 
lawless  proceeding  without  form  of  trial,  and  the 
killing  was  evidently  done  in  the  most  brutal  way. 
We  are  far  from  feeling  any  certainty  regarding 
the  course  of  events  at  Demir  Hissar.  There  tvas 
clearly  riot  an  unprovoked  massacre  as  the  Greeks 
allege.  But  there  did  follow  on  the  cowardly  ex- 
cesses of  the  Greek  inhabitants  against  the  Bulga- 
rian wounded  and  fugitives,  indefensible  acts  of 
reprisal,  and  a  lawless  and  brutal  slaughter  of  men 
who  may  have  deserved  some  more  regular  punish- 
ment. 

*'  The  events  at  Doxato  and  Demir  Hissar,  with 
the  burning  of  Seres,  form  the  chief  counts  in  the 
Greek  indictment  of  the  Bulgarians.  The  other 
items  refer  mainly  to  single  acts  of  violence  charged 
against  individuals  in  many  places  over  a  great 
range  of  territory.  These  minor  charges  we  have 
not  investigated,  since  they  rarely  involved  an  ac<;u- 
sation  against  the  army  as  a  whole  or  its  superior 
officers.  We  regret  that  we  were  unable  to  visit 
Nigrita,  a  large  village,  which  was  bunied  during 
the  fighting  which  raged   around  it.     Many  of  the 


160 Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

inhabitants  are  said  to  Lave  perished  in  the  flames. 
We  think  it  proper  to  place  on  record,  without  any; 
expression  of  opinion,  the  Greek  belief  that  this 
place  was  deliberately  burned  by  the  Bulgarians. 
We  note  also  the  statement  made  by  a  Greek  soldier 
in  a  captured  letter  that  more  than  a  thousand  Bul- 
garian prisoners  were  slaughtered  there  by  the 
Greek  army.  We  have  also  before  us  the  signed 
statement  of  a  leading  Moslem  of  the  Nigrita  district 
to  the  effect  that  after  the  second  war  the  Greeks 
drove  the  Aloslems  from  the  surrounding  villages 
with  gross  violence,  because  they  had  been  neutral 
in  the  conflict,  and  took  possession  of  their  lands 
and  houses. 

**  It  remains  to  mention  the  charge  repeatedly 
made  by  some  of  the  diplomatic  representatives  of 
Greece  in  European  capitals,  that  the  fingers  and 
ears  of  women  were  found  in  the  pockets  of  captured 
Bulgarian  soldiers.  We  need  hardly  insist  on  the 
inherent  improbability  of  this  vague  story.  Such 
relics  would  soon  become  a  nauseous  possession,  and 
a  soldier  about  to  surrender  would,  one  supposes, 
endeavour  to  throw  away  such  damning  evidence 
of  his  guilt.  The  only  authority  quoted  for  this 
accusation  is  a  correspondent  of  the  Times.  We 
saw  the  gentleman  in  question  at  Salonika,  a  Greek 
journalist,  who  was  acting  as  deputy  for  the  Times 
correspondent.  He  had  the  story  from  Greek  sol- 
fliers,  and  did  not  hitnself  see  the  fingers  and  ears. 
The  headquarters  of  the  Greek  army,  which  lost 
no  opportunity  of  publishing  facts  likely  to  damage 
the  Bulgarians,  would  presumably  have  published 


Alleged  Bulgarian  Atrocities  161 

this  accusation  also,  with  the  necessary  details,  had 
it  been  capable  of  verification.  Until  it  is  backed 
by  further  evidence,  the  story  is  unworthy  of  belief. 
**  The  case  against  the  Bulgarians  which  remains 
after  a  critical  examination  of  the  evidence  relating 
to  Doxato,  Seres,  and  Demir  Hissar  is  sufficiently 
grave.  In  each  case  the  Bulgarians  acted  under 
provocation,  and  in  each  case  the  accusation  is 
grossly  exaggerated,  but  their  reprisals  were  none 
the  less  lawless  and  unmeasured.  It  is  fair,  how- 
ever, to  point  out  that  these  three  cases,  even  on  the 
worst  view  which  may  be  taken  of  them,  are  far 
from  supporting  the  general  statements  of  some 
Greek  writers,  that  the  Bulgarians,  in  their  with- 
drawal from  southern  Macedonia  and  western 
Thrace,  followed  a  general  policy  of  devastation  and 
massacre.  They  held  five  considerable  Grjeco-Turk- 
ish  towns  in  this  area,  and  many  smaller  places  — 
Drama,  Kavala,  Xanthi,  Gumurjina,  and  Dedea- 
gatch.  In  none  of  these  did  the  Bulgarians  burn 
and  massacre,  though  some  acts  of  violence  occurred. 
The  wrong  they  did  leaves  a  sinister  blot  upon  their 
record,  but  it  must  be  viewed  in  its  just  propor- 
tions." 


CHAPTER    XIT 

GREEK    ATROCITIES    IN    THE    BALKAN    WARS 

Responsibility  of  the  Greek  press  in  inciting  feelings  of  hatred  against 
the  Bulga'rs  —  The  order  of  King  Constantine  for  Greek  reprisals 
antedated  the  alleged  Bulgarian  provocation  —  Sacking  and  burn- 
ing Kukush  by  the  Greeks  —  Tales  of  torture  by  Macedonian  ref- 
iigeas  —  Catholic  priests  and  Armenian  doctors  flogged  for  money  — 
Attempts  of  Greek  soldiers  to  violate  nuns  —  Damaging  evidence 
of  the  letters  found  in  the  Razlog  district  of  Macedonia  —  Greek 
soldiers  boaat  of  their  cruelties  —  One  hundred  and  sixty  Bulgarian 
villages  burned  by  the  Greeks. 

The  Greeks  were  quite  willing  that  the  atrocities 
of  the  Bulgarian  soldiers  should  be  investigated  by 
the  Carnegie  commission;  but  it  was  quite  other- 
wise when  the  commission  sought  to  investigate  the 
atrocities  that  had  been  committed  by  the  defenders 
of  Hellenism.  ''  It  was  a  matter  for  wonder  and 
for  some  reflection,"  writes  Professor  William  M. 
Sloane  of  Columbia  University,  '*  when  there  began 
to  emanate  from  Greek  sources  long  telegraphic  dis- 
patches calling  the  attention  of  the  civilized  world 
to  the  atrocities  permitted  by  Bulgaria.  The  ques- 
tion was,  had  the  Greeks  been  practising  the  guile 
for  which  of  old  they  were  renowned,  and  taking  a 
leaf  from  the  Bulgarian  book?  The  agents  they 
dispatched  with  much  publicity  to  investigate  the 
shameful  deeds  of  others  about  which  there  was  no 
question,  might  possibly  have  been  better  employed 
in  investigating  their  own  kinsfolk  and  ending  for 

162 


Greek  Atrocities  in  the  Balkan  Wars     163 

ever  the  activities  of  both  the  Greek  and  the  Turkish 
koniitadjis  along  the  frontiers  of  the  northeast."^ 
In  spite  of  the  veiled  opposition  of  the  Greek 
government  to  the  investigation  by  the  Carnegie 
commission  of  the  atrocities  of  its  soldiers,  such  an 
investigation  was,  nevertheless,  made,  and  the  find- 
ings of  the  commission  are  embodied  in  the  follow- 
ing paragraphs:  *' It  required  no  artificial  incite- 
ment to  produce  the  race-hatred  which  explains  the 
excesses  of  the  Christian  allies,  and  more  especially 
of  the  Bulgarians  toward  the  Turks.  Race,  lan- 
guage, history,  and  religion  have  made  a  barrier 
which  only  the  more  tolerant  minds  of  either  creed 
are  able  wholly  to  surmount.  It  is  less  easy  to 
explain  the  excesses  of  which  Greeks  and  Bulgarians 
were  guilty  toward  each  other.  The  two  races  are 
sharply  distinguished  by  temperament.  A  tradi- 
tional enmity  has  divided  them  from  the  daum  of 
history,  and  this  is  aggravated  in  Macedonia  by  a 
certain  social  cleavage.  But  for  a  year  the  two  races 
had  been  allies,  united  against  a  common  enemy. 
When  policy  dictated  a  breach,  it  was  necessary  to 
prepare  public  opinion ;  and  the  Greek  press,  as  if 
by  a  common  impulse,  devoted  itself  to  this  work. 
To  the  rank  and  file  of  all  three  Balkan  armies,  the 
idea  of  a  fratricidal  war  was  at  first  repugnant  and 
inexplicable.  The  passions  of  the  Greek  array  were 
roused  by  a  daily  diet  of  violent  articles.  The  Greek 
press  had  had  little  to  say  regarding  the  Bulgarian 
excesses  against  the  Turks  while  the  facts  were  still 

1  The  Balkans:    a  Laboratory  of  Hiaiory.      By  William   M.  Sloane. 
New  York,  1914,  pp.  322. 


164 Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

fresh,  and  indeed  none  of  the  allies  had  the  right 
to  be  censorious,  for  none  of  their  records  were 
clean.  Now  everything  was  dragged  into  the  light, 
and  the  record  of  the  Bulgarian  bands,  deplorable 
in  itsolf,  lost  nothing  in  the  telling.  Day  after  day 
the  Bulgarians  were  represented  as  a  race  of  mon- 
sters, and  public  feeling  was  roused  to  a  pitch  of 
chauvinism  which  made  it  inevitable  that  war,  when 
it  came,  should  be  ruthless.  In  talk  and  in  print 
one  phrase  summed  up  the  general  feeling  of  the 
Greeks  toward  the  Bulgarians,  *  Dhen  einai  anthro- 
poi!  '  (They  are  not  human  beings).  In  their  ex- 
citement and  indignation  the  Greeks  came  to  think 
of  themselves  as  the  appointed  avengers  of  civiliza- 
tion against  a  race  which  stood  outside  the  pale  of 
humanity. 

"  When  an  excitable  southern  race,  which  has 
been  schooled  in  Balkan  conceptions  of  vengeance, 
begins  to  reason  in  this  way,  it  is  easy  to  predict 
the  consequences.  Deny  that  your  enemies  are  men, 
and  presently  you  will  treat  them  as  vermin.  Only 
half  realizing  the  full  meaning  of  what  he  said,  a 
Greek  officer  remarked  to  the  writer,  *  Wlien  you 
have  to  deal  with  barbarians,  you  must  behave  like 
a  barbarian  yourself.  It  is  the  only  thing  they  un- 
derstand.' The  Greek  army  went  into  the  war,  its 
mind  inflamed  with  anger  and  contempt.  A  gaudily 
coloured  print,  which  we  saw  in  the  streets  of  Sa- 
lonika and  the  Pinpus,  eagerly  bought  by  the  Greek 
soldiers  returning  to  their  homes,  reveals  the  depth 
of  the  brutality  to  which  this  race-hatred  had  sunk 
them.    It  shows  a  Greek  evzone  (highlander)  hold- 


Greek  Atrocities  in  the  Balkan  Wars     165 

ing  a  living  Bulgarian  soldier  with  both  hands,  while 
he  gnaws  the  face  of  his  victim  with  his  teeth,  like 
some  beast  of  prey.  It  is  entitled  the  Bulgarophagos 
(Bulgar-eater),  and  is  adorned  with  the  following 
verses : 

The  sea  of  fire  which  boils  in  my  breast 
And  calls  for  vengeance  with  the  aavage  waves  of  my  sou!, 
Will  be  quenched  when  the  monsters  of  Sofia  are  still,' 
And  thy  life  blood  extinguishes  ray  hate.' 

"  Another  popular  battle  picture  shows  a  Greek 
soldier  gouging  out  the  eyes  of  a  living  Bulgarian. 
A  third  shows  as  an  episode  of  a  battle  scene  the 
exploit  of  the  Bulgar-eater. 

"As  an  evidence  of  the  feeling  which  animated 
the  Greek  army  these  things  have  their  importance. 
They  mean,  in  plain  words,  that  Greek  soldiers 
wished  to  believe  that  they  and  their  comrades  per- 
petrated bestial  cruelties.  A  print  seller  who  issued 
such  pictures  in  a  western  country  would  be  guilty 
of  a  gross  libel  on  its  army. 

*'  The  excesses  of  the  Greek  army  began  on  July 
4  with  the  first  conflict  at  Kukush  (Kilkis).  A  few 
days  later  the  excesses  of  the  Bulgarians  at  Doxato 
(July  13),  Seres  (July  11),  and  Demir  Hissar  (July 
7)  were  known  and  still  further  inflamed  the  anger 
of  the  Greeks.  On  July  12  King  Constantine  an- 
nounced in  a  dispatch  which  reported  the  slaughter 
at  Demir  Hissar  that  he  '  found  himself  obliged  with 
profound  regret  to  proceed  to  reprisals.'  A  com- 
parison of  dates  will  show  tlmt  the  Greek  *  re- 
prisals '  had  begun  some  days  before  the  Bulgarian 
'  provocation.* 


166  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

"  It  was  with  the  defeat  of  the  little  Bulgarian 
army  at  Kukush,  after  a  stubborn  three  days'  de- 
fence against  a  superior  Greek  force,  that  the  Greek 
campaign  assumed  the  character  of  a  war  of  devas- 
tation. The  Greek  army  entered  the  town  of  Ku- 
kush on  July  4.  We  do  not  propose  to  lay  stress 
on  the  evidence  of  Bulgarian  witnesses  regarding 
certain  events  which  preceded  their  entry.  Shells 
fell  outside  the  town  among  groups  of  fugitive  peas- 
ants from  the  villages,  while  within  the  town  shells 
fell  in  the  orphanage  and  hospital  conducted  by  the 
French  Catholic  sisters  under  the  protection  of  the 
French  flag.  It  is  possible  and  charitable  to  explain 
such  incidents  as  the  effect  of  an  unlucky  chance. 
The  evidence  of  European  eye-witnesses  confirms 
the  statements  of  the  Bulgarian  refugees  on  one 
crucial  point.  These  shells  caused  no  general  con- 
flagration, and  it  is  doubtful  whether  more  than 
three  or  four  houses  were  set  on  fire  by  them.  When 
the  Greek  army  entered  Kukush  it  was  still  intact. 
It  is  to-day  a  heap  of  ruins  —  as  a  member  of  the 
commission  reports,  after  a  visit  to  which  the  Greek 
authorities  opposed  several  obstacles.  It  was  a 
prosperous  town  of  thirteen  thousand  inhabitants, 
the  centre  of  a  purely  Bulgarian  district  and  the  seat 
of  several  flourishing  schools.  The  bent  standards 
of  its  electric  lamps  still  testify  to  the  efforts  which 
it  had  made  to  attain  a  level  of  material  progress 
unusual  in  Turkey.  That  its  destruction  was  delib- 
erate admits  of  no  doubt.  The  great  majority  of  the 
inhabitants  fled  before  the  arrival  of  the  Greeks. 
About  four  hundred,  chiefly  old  people  and  children, 


Greek  Atrocities  in  the  Balkan  Wars     167 

had  found  shelter  in  the  Catholic  orphanage,  and 
were    not   molested.      European    eye-witnesses    de- 
scribe the  systematic  entry  of  the  Greek  soldiers- into 
house  after  house.    Any  of  the  inhabitants  who  were 
found  inside  were  first  evicted,  pillage  followed,  and 
then,  usually  after  a  slight  explosion,  the  house  burst 
into  flames.     Fugitives  continued  to  arrive  in  the 
orphanage  while  the  town  was  burning,  and  several 
women  stated  that  they  had  been  violated  by  Greek 
soldiers.    In  one  case  a  soldier,  more  chivalrous  than 
his  comrades,  brought  a  woman  to  the  orphanage 
whom  he  had  saved  from  violation.     Some  civilians 
were  killed  by  the  Greek  cavalry  as  they  rode  in, 
and  many  lives  were  lost  in  the  course  of  the  sacking 
and  burning  of  Kukush.     We  have  received  a  de- 
tailed list  from  a  Bulgarian  source  of  seventy-four 
inhabitants  who  are  believed  to  have  been  killed. 
Most  of  them  are  old  women,  and  eleven  are  babies. 
*'  The  main  fact  on  which  we  must  insist  is  that 
the  Greek  army  inaugurated  the  second  war  by  the 
deliberate  burning  of  a  Bulgarian  to\^Ti.    A  singular 
fact  which  has  some  bearing  on  Greek  policy  is  that 
the  refugees  who  took  shelter  in  the  French  orphan- 
age were  still,  on  September  6,  long  after  the  con- 
clusion of  peace,  closely  confined  as  prisoners  within 
it,  though  hardly  a  man  among  them  is  capable  of 
bearing  arms.    A  notice  in  Greek  on  its  outer  door 
states  that  they  are  forbidden  to  leave  its  precincts. 
Meanwhile,  Greek  (or  rather  *  Grecoman  ')  refugees 
from  Strumnitza  were  being  installed  on  the  sites  of 
the  houses  which  once  belonged  to  Bulgarians,  and 
in  the  few  buildings  (perhaps  a  dozen  in  number) 


168 Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

which  escaped  the  flames.  The  inference  is  irresist- 
ible. In  conquering  the  Kukush  district,  the  Greeks 
were  resolved  to  have  no  Bulgarian  subjects. 

'*  The  precedent  of  Kukush  was  only  too  faith- 
fully followed  in  the  villages.  In  the  caza  (county) 
of  Kukush  alone  no  less  than  forty  Bulgarian  vil- 
lages were  burned  by  the  Greek  army  in  its  north- 
ward march.  Detachments  of  cavalry  went  from 
village  to  village,  and  the  work  of  the  regulars  was 
completed  by  bashi-bozouks.  It  was  a  part  of  the 
Greek  plan  of  campaign  to  use  the  local  Turkish 
population  as  an  instrument  in  the  work  of  devas- 
tation. In  some  cases  they  were  armed  and  even 
provided  with  uniforms.  In  no  instance,  however, 
of  which  we  have  a  record,  were  the  Turks  solely 
responsible  for  the  burning  of  a  village.  They 
followed  the  Greek  troops  and  acted  under  their 
protection.  We  have  no  means  of  ascertaining 
whether  any  general  order  w^as  given  which  regu- 
lated the  burning  of  the  Bulgarian  villages.  A 
Greek  sergeant  among  the  prisoners  of  war  in  Sofia, 
stated  in  reply  to  a  question  which  a  member  of  the 
commission  put  to  him,  that  he  and  his  comrades 
burned  the  villages  around  Kukush  because  the  in- 
habitants had  fled.  It  is  a  fact  that  one  mainly 
Catholic  village  (Todoraki),  in  which  most  of  the  in- 
habitants remained,  was  not  burned,  though  it  was 
thoroughly  pillaged.  But  the  fate  of  other  villages, 
notably  Akanjeli,  in  which  the  inhabitants  not  only 
remained,  but  even  welcomed  the  Greek  troops,  dis- 
poses of  this  explanation.  "Wliatever  may  have  been 
the   terms   of  the   orders   under  which   the   Greek 


Alleged  Bulgarian  Atrocities  155 

met  with  a  heavy  fire  from  several  large  liouses  held 
by  the  Greeks.  Against  these  he  finally  used  his 
guns.  From  noon  onward  the  town  was  in  flames 
at  several  points.  The  commandant  does  not  admit 
that  his  shells  caused  the  conflagration,  but  in  this 
matter  probability  is  against  him.  One  witness, 
George  Beleff,  states  that  the  schoolhouse  was  set 
on  fire  by  a  shell.  The  commandant  states  further 
that  the  Greeks  themselves,  who  were  as  reckless 
as  the  Bulgarians,  fired  certain  houses  which  con- 
tained their  own  stores  of  munitions.  It  is  probable 
that  the  Bulgarians  also  set  on  fire  the  buildings 
in  which  their  own  stores  were  housed.  Both  Greeks 
and  Bulgarians  state  that  a  high  wind  was  blowing 
during  the  afternoon.  Seres  was  a  crowded  town, 
closely  built  in  the  Oriental  fashion,  with  liouses 
constructed  mainly  of  wood.  The  summer  had  been 
hot  and  dry.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  town 
blazed.  We  must  give  due  weight  to  the  belief  uni- 
versally held  by  the  Greek  inhabitants  that  the  town 
was  deliberately  set  on  fire  by  tlie  Bulgarian  troops. 
The  inhabitants  for  the  most  part  had  fled,  and  few 
of  them  saw  what  happened ;  but  one  eye-witness 
states  that  the  soldiers  used  petroleum  and  acted 
on  a  systematic  plan.  This  witness  is  a  local  Turk 
who  had  taken  service  under  the  Bulgarians  as  a 
police  officer  while  they  were  still  at  war  with  his 
country.  That  is  not  a  record  which  inspires  con- 
fidence. On  the  other  hand.  Dr.  Yankoff,  a  legal 
official  who  accompanied  the  Bulgarian  troops, 
states  that  he  personally  made  efforts  to  check  the 
flames. 


156  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

**  The  general  impression  conveyed  by  all  the  evi- 
dence before  us,  and  especially  that  of  the  Russian 
Dr.  Laznev,  is  that  the  Bulgarian  troops  were  hotly 
engaged  throughout  the  afternoon,  first  with  the 
Greek  militia  and  then  with  the  main  Greek  army. 
The  Greek  forces  advanced  in  large  numbers  and 
with  artillery  from  two  directions  to  relieve  the  town, 
and  compelled  the  Bulgarians  to  retreat  before  sun- 
down. Their  shells  also  fell  in  the  town.  The  Bulga- 
rians were  not  in  undisturbed  possession  for  so  much 
as  an  hour,  and  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  they  can 
have  had  leisure  for  much  systematic  incendiarism. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  indisputable  that  some  Bul- 
garian villagers  who  followed  the  troops  did  delib- 
erately burn  houses,  and  that  a  mob  comprised 
partly  of  Bulgarians  and  partly  of  Turks  pillaged 
and  burned  while  the  troops  were  fighting.  It  is 
probable  that  some  of  the  Bulgarian  troops,  who 
seem  to  have  been,  as  at  Doxato,  a  very  mixed 
force  which  included  some  Pomak  (Moslem)  levies, 
joined  in  this  work.  The  Bulgarians  knew  that  the 
Greeks  were  burning  their  villages,  and  some  of 
them  had  heard  of  the  schoolhouse  massacre.  Any 
soldiers  in  the  world  would  think  of  vengeance  under 
these  conditions. 

''  To  sum  up,  we  must  conclude  that  the  Greek 
quarter  of  Seres  was  burned  by  the  Bulgarians  in 
the  course  of  their  attack  on  the  town,  but  the  evi- 
dence before  us  does  not  suffice  to  establish  the  Greek 
accusation,  that  the  burning  was  a  part  of  the  plan 
conceived  by  the  Bulgarian  headquarters.  But  un- 
questionably the  whole  conduct  both  of  the  attack 


Alleged  Bulgarian  Atrocities 157 

and  of  the  defence  contributed  to  bring  about  the 
conflagration,  and  some  of  the  attacking  force  did  un- 
doubtedly burn  houses.  There  is,  in  short,  no  trust- 
worthy evidence  of  premeditated  or  official  incen- 
diarism, but  the  responsibility  for  the  burning  of 
Seres  none  the  less  falls  mainly  upon  the  Bulgarian 
army.  The  result  was  the  destruction  of  four  thou- 
sand out  of  six  thousand  houses,  the  impoverishment 
of  a  large  population,  and  in  all  likelihood  the  pain- 
ful death  of  many  of  the  aged  and  infirm,  who  could 
not  make  good  their  escape.  The  episode  of  Seres 
is  deeply  discreditable  alike  to  Greeks  and  Bulga- 
rians." 

It  remains  to  notice  the  charges  of  Bulgarian 
atrocities  at  Demir  Hissar;  and  the  finding  of  the 
Carnegie  commission  on  this  count  is  of  special 
importance  because  Demir  Ilissar  was  used  as  a 
pretext  for  the  reprisals  of  the  Greek  army  at  the 
expense  of  the  Bulgarian  population  in  accordance 
with  the  order  from  King  Constantine  already 
quoted.  An  extremely  damaging  bit  of  evidence 
brought  out  in  the  commission's  report  is  the  fact 
that  the  Greek  atrocities  against  defenceless  Bulgars 
'*  began  in  and  around  Kvkush  some  days  before 
the  Bulgarian  provocation  at  Demir  Hissarl  " 

The  commission  concludes  that  excesses  were 
committed  by  both  Greeks  and  Bulgarians  at  Demir 
Hissar.  "  The  Bulgarian  army,  beaten  in  the  south, 
was  fleeing  in  some  disorder  through  Demir  Ilissar 
to  the  narrow  defile  of  the  Struma  above  this  little 
town.  The  Greeks  of  the  town,  seeing  their  con- 
fusion, determined  to  profit  by  it,  took  up  arms  and 


158 Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

fell  upon  the  Bulgarian  wounded,  the  baggage  trains, 
and  the  fugitive  peasants.  They  rose  too  soon  and 
exposed  themselves  to  Bulgarian  reprisals.  When 
the  Greek  army  at  length  marched  in,  it  found  a 
scene  of  carnage  and  horror.  The  Greek  inhabitants 
had  slaughtered  defenceless  Bulgarians,  and  the 
Bulgarian  rear-guard  had  exacted  vengeance. 

"  The  case  of  the  bishop  has  naturally  attracted 
attention.  Of  the  four  Greek  bishops  who  were  said 
to  have  been  killed  in  Macedonia,  he  alone  was  in 
fact  killed.  There  is  nothing  improbable  in  the  Bul- 
garian statement  that  he  was  the  leader  of  the  Greek 
insurgents,  nor  even  in  the  further  allegation  that 
he  fired  the  first  shot.  The  bishops  of  Macedonia, 
whether  Greeks  or  Bulgarians,  are  always  the  rec- 
ognized political  heads  of  their  community;  they 
are  often  in  close  touch  with  the  rebel  bands,  and 
a  young  and  energetic  man  will  sometimes  place 
himself  openly  at  their  head.  The  Bulgarians  allege 
that  the  bishop,  a  man  of  forty  years  of  age,  fired 
from  his  window  at  their  troops.  The  Greeks  admit 
that  he  '  resisted  '  arrest.  If  it  is  true  that  he  was 
found  with  a  revolver,  from  which  some  cartridges 
had  been  fired,  there  was  technical  justification  for 
regarding  him  as  a  combatant.  The  hard  law  of 
war  sanctions  the  execution  of  civilians  taken  with 
arms  in  their  hands.  There  is  no  reason  to  reject 
the  Greek  statement  that  his  body  was  mutilated, 
dead  or  alive.  But  the  Greek  assertion  that  this  was 
done  by  a  certain  Captain  Bostanov  is  adequately 
met  by  the  Bulgarian  denial  that  any  such  officer 
exists. 


Alleged  Bulgarian  Atrocities  159 

"  Some  of  the  men  in  the  Greek  list  of  dead  were 
presumably  armed  inhabitants  who  engaged  in  the 
street  fighting.  Nine  are  young  men  of  twenty  and 
thereabouts  and  some  are  manual  labourers.  Clearly 
these  are  not  *  notables  '  collected  for  a  deliberate 
massacre.  On  the  other  hand,  six  are  men  of  sixty 
years  and  upwards,  who  are  not  likely  to  have  been 
combatants.  These  leaders  of  the  Greek  community 
were  evidently  arrested  on  suspicion  of  fomenting 
the  outbreak  and  summarily  *  executed.'  It  was  a 
lawless  proceeding  without  form  of  trial,  and  the 
killing  was  evidently  done  in  the  most  brutal  way. 
We  are  far  from  feeling  any  certainty  regarding 
the  course  of  events  at  Demir  Ilissar.  There  ivas 
clearly  7iot  an  unprovoked  massacre  as  the  Greeks 
allege.  But  there  did  follow  on  the  cowardly  ex- 
cesses of  the  Greek  inhabitants  against  the  Bulga- 
rian wounded  and  fugitives,  indefensible  acts  of 
reprisal,  and  a  lawless  and  brutal  slaughter  of  men 
who  may  have  deserved  some  more  regular  punish- 
ment. 

"  The  events  at  Doxato  and  Demir  Hissar,  witli 
the  burning  of  Seres,  form  the  chief  counts  in  the 
Greek  indictment  of  tlie  Bulgarians.  The  other 
items  refer  mainly  to  single  acts  of  violence  charged 
against  individuals  in  many  places  over  a  great 
range  of  territory.  These  minor  charges  Ave  have 
not  investigated,  since  they  rarely  involved  an  ac<iu- 
sation  against  the  army  as  a  whole  or  its  superior 
officers.  We  regret  that  we  were  unable  to  visit 
Nigrita,  a  large  village,  whic^h  was  bunied  during 
the  fighting  which  raged  around  it.     Many  of  the 


160 Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

inhabitants  are  said  to  have  perished  in  the  flames. 
We  think  it  proper  to  place  on  record,  without  any; 
expression  of  opinion,  the  Greek  belief  that  this 
place  was  deliberately  burned  by  the  Bulgarians. 
We  note  also  the  statement  made  by  a  Greek  soldier 
in  a  captured  letter  that  more  than  a  thousand  Bul- 
garian prisoners  were  slaughtered  there  by  the 
Greek  army.  We  have  also  before  us  the  signed 
statement  of  a  leading  Moslem  of  the  Nigrita  district 
to  the  effect  that  after  the  second  war  the  Greeks 
drove  the  Moslems  from  the  surrounding  villages 
with  gross  violence,  because  they  had  been  neutral 
in  the  conflict,  and  took  possession  of  their  lands 
and  houses. 

"  It  remains  to  mention  the  charge  repeatedly 
made  by  some  of  the  diplomatic  representatives  of 
Greece  in  European  capitals,  that  the  fingers  and 
ears  of  women  were  found  in  the  pockets  of  captured 
Bulgarian  soldiers.  We  need  hardly  insist  on  the 
inherent  improbability  of  this  vague  story.  Such 
relics  would  soon  become  a  nauseous  possession,  and 
a  soldier  about  to  surrender  would,  one  supposes, 
endeavour  to  throw  away  such  damning  evidence 
of  his  guilt.  The  only  authority  quoted  for  this 
accusation  is  a  correspondent  of  the  Times.  We 
saw  the  gentleman  in  question  at  Salonika,  a  Greek 
journalist,  who  was  acting  as  deputy  for  the  Times 
correspondent.  He  had  the  story  from  Greek  sol- 
diers, and  did  not  himself  see  the  fingers  and  ears. 
The  headquarters  of  the  Greek  army,  which  lost 
no  opportunity  of  publishing  facts  likely  to  damage 
the  Bulgarians,  would  presumably  have  published 


Alleged  Bulgarian  Atrocities  161 

this  accusation  also,  with  the  necessary  details,  had 
it  been  capable  of  verification.  Until  it  is  backed 
by  further  evidence,  the  story  is  unworthy  of  belief. 
*'  The  case  against  the  Bulgarians  which  remains 
after  a  critical  examination  of  the  evidence  relating 
to  Doxato,  Seres,  and  Demir  Hissar  is  sufficiently 
grave.  In  each  case  the  Bulgarians  acted  under 
provocation,  and  in  each  case  the  accusation  is 
grossly  exaggerated,  but  their  reprisals  were  none 
the  less  lawless  and  unmeasured.  It  is  fair,  how- 
ever, to  point  out  that  these  three  cases,  even  on  the 
worst  view  which  may  be  taken  of  them,  are  far 
from  supporting  the  general  statements  of  some 
Greek  writers,  that  the  Bulgarians,  in  their  with- 
drawal from  southern  Macedonia  and  western 
Thrace,  followed  a  general  policy  of  devastation  and 
massacre.  They  held  five  considerable  Gr?Bco-Turk- 
ish  towns  in  this  area,  and  many  smaller  places  — 
Drama,  Kavala,  Xanthi,  Gumurjina,  and  Dedea- 
gatch.  In  none  of  these  did  the  Bulgarians  burn 
and  massacre,  though  some  acts  of  violence  occurred. 
The  wrong  they  did  leaves  a  sinister  blot  upon  their 
record,  but  it  must  be  viewed  in  its  just  propor- 
tions." 


CHAPTER    XII 

GREEK    ATROCITIES    IIN"    THE    BALKAN    WABS 

Responsibility  of  the  Greek  press  in  inciting  feelings  of  hatred  against 
the  Bulgars  —  The  order  of  King  Constantine  for  Greek  reprisals 
antedated  the  alleged  Bulgarian  provocation  —  Sacking  and  burn- 
ing Kukush  by  the  Greeks  —  Tales  of  torture  by  Macedonian  ref- 
ugeas  —  Catholic  priests  and  Armenian  doctors  fJogged  for  money  — 
Attempts  of  Greek  soldiers  to  violate  nuns  —  Damaging  evidence 
of  the  letters  found  in  the  Razlog  district  of  Macedonia  —  Greek 
soldiers  boast  of  their  cruelties  —  One  hundred  and  sixty  Bulgarian 
villages  burned  by  the  Greeks. 

The  Greeks  were  quite  willing  that  the  atrocities 
of  the  Bulgarian  soldiers  should  be  investigated  by 
the  Carnegie  commission;  but  it  was  quite  other- 
wise when  the  commission  sought  to  investigate  the 
atrocities  that  had  been  committed  by  the  defenders 
of  Hellenism.  '*  It  was  a  matter  for  wonder  and 
for  some  reflection,"  writes  Professor  William  M. 
Sloane  of  Columbia  University,  "  when  there  began 
to  emanate  from  Greek  sources  long  telegraphic  dis- 
patches calling  the  attention  of  the  civilized  world 
to  the  atrocities  permitted  by  Bulgaria.  The  ques- 
tion was,  had  the  Greeks  been  practising  the  guile 
for  which  of  old  they  were  renowned,  and  taking  a 
leaf  from  the  Bulgarian  book?  The  agents  they 
dispatched  with  much  publicity  to  investigate  the 
shameful  deeds  of  others  about  which  there  was  no 
question,  might  possibly  have  been  better  employed 
in  investigating  their  own  kinsfolk  and  ending  for 

162 


Greek  Atrocities  in  the  Balkan  Wars     163 

ever  the  activities  of  both  the  Greek  and  the  Turkish 
komitadjis  along  the  frontiers  of  the  northeast."^ 
In  spite  of  the  veiled  opposition  of  the  Greek 
government  to  the  investigation  by  the  Carnegie 
commission  of  the  atrocities  of  its  soldiers,  such  an 
investigation  was,  nevertheless,  made,  and  the  find- 
ings of  the  commission  are  embodied  in  the  follow- 
ing paragraphs:  "  It  required  no  artificial  incite- 
ment to  produce  the  race-hatred  which  explains  the 
excesses  of  the  Christian  allies,  and  more  especially 
of  the  Bulgarians  toward  the  Turks.  Race,  lan- 
guage, history,  and  religion  have  made  a  barrier 
which  only  tlie  more  tolerant  minds  of  either  creed 
are  able  wholly  to  surmount.  It  is  less  easy  to 
explain  the  excesses  of  which  Greeks  and  Bulgarians 
were  guilty  toward  each  other.  The  two  races  are 
sharply  distinguished  by  temperament.  A  tradi- 
tional enmity  has  divided  them  from  the  d^vm  of 
history,  and  this  is  aggravated  in  Macedonia  by  a 
certain  social  cleavage.  But  for  a  year  the  two  races 
had  been  allies,  united  against  a  common  enemy. 
When  policy  dictated  a  breach,  it  was  necessary  to 
prepare  public  opinion ;  and  the  Greek  press,  as  if 
by  a  common  impulse,  devoted  itself  to  this  work. 
To  the  rank  and  file  of  all  three  Balkan  armies,  the 
idea  of  a  fratricidal  war  was  at  first  repugnant  and 
inexplicable.  The  passions  of  the  Greek  array  were 
roused  by  a  daily  diet  of  violent  articles.  The  Greek 
pre.ss  had  had  little  to  say  regarding  the  Bulgarian 
excesses  against  the  Turks  while  the  facts  were  still 

1  The  Balkans:    a  Laboratory  of  Hiatory.     By  William  M.  Sloane. 
New  York,  1914,  pp.  322. 


164 Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

fresh,  and  indeed  none  of  the  allies  had  the  right 
to  be  censorious,  for  none  of  their  records  were 
clean.  Now  everything  was  dragged  into  the  light, 
and  the  record  of  the  Bulgarian  bands,  deplorable 
in  itself,  lost  nothing  in  the  telling.  Day  after  day 
the  Bulgarians  were  represented  as  a  race  of  mon- 
sters, and  public  feeling  was  roused  to  a  pitch  of 
chauvinism  which  made  it  inevitable  that  war,  when 
it  came,  should  be  ruthless.  In  talk  and  in  print 
one  phrase  summed  up  the  general  feeling  of  the 
Greeks  toward  the  Bulgarians,  '  Dhen  einai  anihro- 
poi!  '  (They  are  not  human  beings).  In  their  ex- 
citement and  indignation  the  Greeks  came  to  think 
of  themselves  as  the  appointed  avengers  of  civiliza- 
tion against  a  race  which  stood  outside  the  pale  of 
humanity. 

*'  \\Tien  an  excitable  southern  race,  which  has 
been  schooled  in  Balkan  conceptions  of  vengeance, 
begins  to  reason  in  this  way,  it  is  easy  to  predict 
the  consequences.  Deny  that  your  enemies  are  men, 
and  presently  you  will  treat  them  as  vermin.  Only 
half  realizing  the  full  meaning  of  what  he  said,  a 
Greek  officer  remarked  to  the  writer,  '  Wlien  you 
have  to  deal  with  barbarians,  you  must  behave  like 
a  barbarian  yourself.  It  is  the  only  thing  they  un- 
derstand.' The  Greek  army  went  into  the  war,  its 
mind  inflamed  with  anger  and  contempt.  A  gaudily 
coloured  print,  which  we  saw  in  the  streets  of  Sa- 
lonika and  the  Pinpus,  eagerly  bought  by  the  Greek 
soldiers  returning  to  their  homes,  reveals  the  depth 
of  the  brutality  to  which  this  race-hatred  had  sunk 
them.    It  shows  a  Greek  evzone  (highlander)  hold- 


Greek  Atrocities  in  the  Balkan  Wars     165 

ing  a  living  Bulgarian  soldier  with  both  hands,  while 
he  gnaws  the  face  of  his  victim  with  his  teeth,  like 
some  beast  of  prey.  It  is  entitled  the  Bulgarophagos 
(Bulgar-eater),  and  is  adorned  with  the  follovNing 
verses : 

"  '  The  sea  of  fire  which  boils  in  my  breast 

And  calls  for  vengeance  with  the  aavage  waves  of  my  sou!, 
Will  be  quenched  when  the  raoustcra  of  Sofia  are  still,' 
And  thy  life  blood  extinguishes  my  hate.* 

''  Another  popular  battle  picture  shows  a  Greek 
soldier  gouging  out  the  eyes  of  a  living  Bulgarian. 
A  third  shows  as  an  episode  of  a  battle  scene  the 
exploit  of  the  Bulgar-eater. 

"As  an  evidence  of  the  feeling  which  animated 
the  Greek  army  these  things  have  their  importance. 
They  mean,  in  plain  words,  that  Greek  soldiers 
wished  to  believe  that  they  and  their  comrades  per- 
petrated bestial  cruelties.  A  print  seller  who  issued 
such  pictures  in  a  western  country  would  be  guilty 
of  a  gross  libel  on  its  army. 

*'  The  excesses  of  the  Greek  army  began  on  July 
4  with  the  first  conflict  at  Kukush  (Kilkis).  A  few 
days  later  the  excesses  of  the  Bulgarians  at  Doxato 
(July  13),  Seres  (July  11),  and  Demir  Hissar  (July 
7)  were  known  and  still  further  inflamed  the  anger 
of  the  Greeks.  On  July  12  King  Constantine  an- 
nounced in  a  dispatch  which  reported  the  slaughter 
at  Demir  Hissar  that  he  '  found  himself  obliged  with 
profound  regret  to  proceed  to  reprisals.'  A  com- 
parison of  dates  ivill  shoiv  tJmt  the  Greek  '  re- 
prisals '  had  begun  some  days  before  the  Bulgarian 
'  provocation.* 


166  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

"  It  was  with  the  defeat  of  the  little  Bulgarian 
army  at  Kukush,  after  a  stubborn  three  days'  de- 
fence against  a  superior  Greek  force,  that  the  Greek 
campaign  assumed  the  character  of  a  war  of  devas- 
tation. The  Greek  army  entered  the  town  of  Ku- 
kush on  July  4,  We  do  not  propose  to  lay  stress 
on  the  evidence  of  Bulgarian  witnesses  regarding 
certain  events  which  preceded  their  entry.  Shells 
fell  outside  the  town  among  groups  of  fugitive  peas- 
ants from  the  villages,  wiiile  within  the  town  shells 
fell  in  the  orphanage  and  hospital  conducted  by  the 
French  Catholic  sisters  under  the  protection  of  the 
French  flag.  It  is  possible  and  charitable  to  explain 
such  incidents  as  the  effect  of  an  unlucky  chance. 
The  evidence  of  European  eye-witnesses  confirms 
tbe  statements  of  the  Bulgarian  refugees  on  one 
crucial  point.  These  shells  caused  no  general  con- 
flagration, and  it  is  doubtful  whether  more  than 
three  or  four  houses  were  set  on  fire  by  them.  When 
the  Greek  army  entered  Kukush  it  was  still  intact. 
It  is  to-day  a  heap  of  ruins  —  as  a  member  of  the 
commission  reports,  after  a  visit  to  which  the  Greek 
authorities  opposed  several  obstacles.  It  was  a 
prosperous  town  of  thirteen  thousand  inhabitants, 
the  centre  of  a  purely  Bulgarian  district  and  the  seat 
of  several  flourishing  schools.  The  bent  standards 
of  its  electric  lamps  still  testify  to  the  efforts  which 
it  had  made  to  attain  a  level  of  material  progress 
unusual  in  Turkey.  That  its  destruction  was  delib- 
erate admits  of  no  doubt.  The  great  rriajority  of  the 
inhabitants  fled  before  the  arrival  of  the  Greeks. 
About  four  hundred,  chiefly  old  people  and  children, 


Greek  Atrocities  in  the  Balkan  Wars     167 

had  found  shelter  in  the  Catholic  orphanage,  and 
were    not   molested.      European    ej^e-witnesses    de- 
scribe the  systematic  entry  of  the  Greek  soldiers- into 
house  after  house.    Any  of  the  inhabitants  who  were 
found  inside  were  first  evicted,  pillage  followed,  and 
then,  usually  after  a  slight  explosion,  the  house  burst 
into  flames.     Fugitives  continued  to  arrive  in  the 
orphanage  while  the  to\vTi  was  burning,  and  several 
women  stated  that  they  had  been  violated  by  Greek 
soldiers.    In  one  case  a  soldier,  more  chivalrous  than 
his  comrades,  brought  a  woman  to  the  orphanage 
whom  he  had  saved  from  violation.     Some  civilians 
were  killed  by  the  Greek  cavalrj'-  as  they  rode  in, 
and  many  lives  were  lost  in  the  course  of  the  sacking 
and  burning  of  Kukush.     We  have  received  a  de- 
tailed list  from  a  Bulgarian  source  of  seventy-four 
inhabitants  who  are  believed  to  have  been  killed. 
Most  of  them  are  old  women,  and  eleven  are  babies. 
*'  The  main  fact  on  which  we  must  insist  is  that 
the  Greek  army  inaugurated  the  second  war  by  the 
deliberate  burning  of  a  Bulgarian  to\vTi.    A  singular 
fact  which  has  some  bearing  on  Greek  policy  is  that 
the  refugees  who  took  shelter  in  the  French  orphan- 
age were  still,  on  September  6,  long  after  the  con- 
clusion of  peace,  closely  confined  as  prisoners  within 
it,  though  hardly  a  man  among  them  is  capable  of 
bearing  arms.    A  notice  in  Greek  on  its  outer  door 
states  that  they  are  forbidden  to  leave  its  precincts. 
Meanwhile,  Greek  (or  rather  *  Grecoman  ')  refugees 
from  Strumnitza  were  being  installed  on  the  sites  of 
the  houses  which  once  belonged  to  Bulgarians,  and 
in  the  few  buildings  (perhaps  a  dozen  in  number) 


168  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 


which  escaped  the  flames.  The  inference  is  irresist- 
ible. In  conquering  the  Kukush  district,  the  Greeks 
were  resolved  to  have  no  Bulgarian  subjects. 

*'  The  precedent  of  Kukush  was  only  too  faith- 
fully followed  in  the  villages.  In  the  caza  (county) 
of  Kukush  alone  no  less  than  forty  Bulgarian  vil- 
lages were  burned  by  the  Greek  army  in  its  north- 
ward march.  Detachments  of  cavalry  went  from 
village  to  village,  and  the  work  of  the  regulars  was 
completed  by  bashi-bozouks.  It  was  a  part  of  the 
Greek  plan  of  campaign  to  use  the  local  Turkish 
population  as  an  instrument  in  the  work  of  devas- 
tation. In  some  cases  they  were  armed  and  even 
provided  with  uniforms.  In  no  instance,  however, 
of  which  we  have  a  record,  were  the  Turks  solely 
responsible  for  the  burning  of  a  village.  They 
followed  the  Greek  troops  and  acted  under  their 
protection.  We  have  no  means  of  ascertaining 
whether  any  general  order  was  given  which  regu- 
lated the  burning  of  the  Bulgarian  villages.  A 
Greek  sergeant  among  the  prisoners  of  war  in  Sofia, 
stated  in  reply  to  a  question  which  a  member  of  the 
commission  put  to  him,  that  he  and  his  comrades 
burned  the  villages  around  Kukush  because  the  in- 
habitants had  fled.  It  is  a  fact  that  one  mainly 
Catholic  village  (Todoraki),  in  which  most  of  the  in- 
habitants remained,  was  not  burned,  though  it  was 
thoroughly  pillaged.  But  the  fate  of  other  villages, 
notably  Akanjeli,  in  which  the  inhabitants  not  only 
remained,  but  even  welcomed  the  Greek  troops,  dis- 
poses of  this  explanation.  Whatever  may  have  been 
the  terms   of  the   orders   under   which   the   Greek 


Greek  Atrocities  in  the  Balkan  Wars     169 

troops  acted,  the  effect  was  that  the  Bulgarian  vil- 
lages were  burned  with  few  exceptions. 

"  Refugees  have  described  how,  on  the  night  of 
the  fall  of  Kukush,  the  whole  sky  seemed  to  be 
aflame.  It  was  a  signal  which  the  peasants  under- 
stood. Few  of  them  hesitated,  and  the  general  flight 
began  which  ended  in  massing  the  Bulgarian  popu- 
lation of  the  districts  through  which  the  Greeks 
marched  within  the  former  frontiers  of  Bulgaria. 
We  need  not  insist  on  the  hardships  of  the  flight. 
Old  and  young,  women  and  children,  walked  some- 
times for  two  consecutive  weeks  by  devious  moun- 
tain paths.  The  weak  fell  by  the  wayside  from  hun- 
ger and  exhaustion.  Families  were  divided,  and 
among  the  hundred  thousand  refugees  scattered 
throughout  Bulgaria,  husbands  are  still  looking  for 
wives,  and  parents  for  children.  Sometimes  the 
stream  of  refugees  crossed  the  path  of  the  contend- 
ing armies,  and  the  clatter  of  cavalry  behind  them 
would  produce  a  panic,  and  a  sauve  qui  pent  in 
which  mothers  lost  their  children,  and  even  aban- 
doned one  in  the  hope  of  saving  another.  They 
arrived  at  the  end  of  their  flight  with  the  knowledge 
that  their  flocks  had  been  seized,  their  crops  aban- 
doned, and  their  homes  destroyed.  In  all  this  misery 
and  loss  there  is  more  than  the  normal  and  inevitable 
wastage  of  war.  The  peasants  abandoned  every- 
thing and  fled,  because  they  would  not  trust  the 
Greek  army  with  their  lives.  It  remains  to  inquire 
whether  this  was  an  unreasonable  fear. 

'*  The  immense  majority  of  the  Macedonian  refu- 
gees ill  Bulgaria  were  never  in  contact  with  the 


170  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Greek  army  and  know  nothing  of  it  at  first  hand. 
They  heard  rumours  of  excesses  in  other  villages; 
they  knew  that  other  villages  had  been  burned ;  they 
fled  because  every  one  was  fleeing;  at  the  worst  they 
can  say  that  from  a  distance  they  saw  their  own 
village  in  flames.  It  would  be  easy  to  ascribe  their 
fears  to  prejudice  or  panic,  were  it  not  for  the  testi- 
mony of  the  few  who  were  in  direct  touch  with  the 
Greek  troops.  In  the  appendices  will  be  found  a 
number  of  depositions  which  the  commission  took 
from  refugees.  It  was  impossible  to  doubt  that 
these  peasants  were  telling  the  truth.  Most  of  them 
were  villagers,  simple,  uneducated,  and  stunned  by 
their  sufferings,  and  quite  incapable  of  invention. 
They  told  their  tales  with  a  dull,  literal  directness. 
In  two  of  the  more  striking  stories,  we  obtained 
ample  corroboration  in  circumstances  which  ad- 
mitted of  no  collusion.  Thus  a  refugee  from  Akan- 
jeli,  who  had  fled  to  Salonika,  told  us  a  story  of 
butchery  and  outrage  which  tallied  in  almost  every 
detail  with  the  story  afterwards  told  by  another 
fugitive  from  the  same  village  who  had  fled  to  Sofia. 
While  passing  through  Dubnitza  we  inquired  from 
a  group  of  refugees  whether  any  one  present  came 
from  Akan.ieli.  A  youth  stepped  forward,  who 
once  more  told  a  story  which  agreed  with  the  two 
others.  The  story  of  the  boy  Mito  Koleff,  told  in 
Sofia,  was  similarly  corroborated  in  an  equally  acci- 
dental way  by  two  witnesses  at  Samokov,  who 
stepped  out  of  a  crowd  of  refugees  in  response  to 
our  inquiry  whether  any  one  present  came  from  the 
village  in  question  (Gavaliantsi).     We  can  feel  no 


Greek  Atrocities  in  the  Balkan  Wars     171 

doubt  about  the  truth  of  a  story  which  reached  us 
in  tills  way  from  wholly  independent  eye-witnesses. 
These  two  incidents  are  typical,  and  must  be  briefly 
summarized  here. 

**  Mito  Koleff  is  an  intelligent  boy  of  fourteen, 
who  comes  from  the  Bulgarian  village  Gavaliantsi, 
in  the  Kukush  district.  He  fled  with  most  of  his 
neighbours  in  the  first  alarm  after  the  Bulgarian 
defeat  at  Kukush,  but  returned  next  day  to  fetch  his 
mother,  who  had  remained  behind.  Outside  the  vil- 
lage a  Greek  trooper  fired  at  him  but  missed  him. 
The  lad  had  the  wit  to  feign  death.  As  he  lay  on 
the  ground,  his  mother  w^as  shot  and  killed  by  the 
same  cavalryman.  He  saw  another  lad  killed,  and 
the  same  trooper  then  went  in  pursuit  of  a  crippled 
girl.  Of  her  fate  Mito,  who  clearly  distinguished 
between  what  he  saw  and  what  he  suspected,  knew 
nothing,  but  another  witness  chanced  to  see  the 
corpse  of  this  girl.  Mito's  subsequent  adventures 
were  told  very  clearly  and  in  groat  detail.  The 
essential  points  are  (1)  that  he  saw  his  village 
burned,  and  (2)  that  another  Greek  cavalr\'man 
whom  he  met  later  in  the  day  all  but  killed  him  with 
a  revolver  shot  and  a  sabre  cut  at  close  quarters, 
while  he  spared  a  by-stander  who  was  able  by  his 
command  of  the  language  to  pass  himself  off  as  a 
Greek.  The  material  corroboration  of  this  story  is, 
that  Mito  still  bore  the  marks  of  his  wounds.  A 
shot  wound  may  be  accidental,  but  a  sabre  wound 
can  only  be  given  deliberately  and  at  close  quarters. 
A  trooper  who  wounds  a  boy  with  his  sword  cannot 
plead  error.    He  must  have  been  engaged  in  indis- 


172 Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

criminate  butchery.  Of  this  particular  squad  of 
Greek  cavalry,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  they 
were  slaughtering  Bulgarian  peasants  at  sight,  and 
that  they  spared  neither  women  nor  children. 

"  The  evidence  regarding  Akanjeli  points  to  the 
same  conclusion.  In  this  Bulgarian  village  near  the 
Lake  of  Doiran,  refugees  from  many  of  the  neigh- 
bouring villages,  who  are  said  to  have  numbered 
four  thousand  persons,  had  halted  in  their  flight.  A 
squadron  of  Greek  cavalry,  numbering  about  three 
hundred  men,  with  officers  at  its  head,  arrived  be- 
tween 3  and  4  p.  m.  on  Sunday,  July  6.  The  villagers 
with  their  priest  went  out  to  meet  them  with  a  white 
flag  and  the  Greek  colours.  The  officer,  in  conver- 
sation with  the  mayor,  accepted  their  surrender  and 
ordered  them  to  give  up  any  arms  they  possessed. 
The  peasants  brought  bread  and  cheese,  and  thirty 
sheep  were  requisitioned  and  roasted  for  the  troops. 
Some  sixty  of  the  men  of  the  place  were  separated 
from  the  others  and  sent  away  to  a  wood.  Of  their 
fate  nothing  is  known.  The  villagers  believe  that 
they  were  slaughtered,  but  we  have  reason  to  hope 
that  they  may  have  been  sent  as  prisoners  to  Salo- 
nika. While  the  rifles  were  being  collected  the  troop- 
ers began  to  demand  money  from  both  men  and 
women.  The  women  were  searched  with  every  cir- 
cumstance of  indignity  and  indecency.  One  witness, 
a  well  to  do  inhabitant  of  Kukush,  was  bound  to- 
gether with  a  refugee  whose  name  he  did  not  know. 
He  gave  up  his  watch  and  five  piastres  and  his  life 
was  spared.  His  companion,  who  had  no  money, 
was  killed  at  his  side.    While  the  arms  were  being 


Greek  Atrocities  in  the  Balkan  Wars     173 


collected,  one  which  was  loaded  went  off  accidentally 
and  wounded  an  officer,  who  was  engaged  in  break- 
ing the  rifles.  Two  youths  who  were  standing  near 
were  then  killed  by  the  soldiers,  presumably  to 
avenge  the  officer's  mishap.  Toward  evening  the 
soldiers  forced  their  way  into  the  houses  and  began 
to  violate  the  women.  One  witness  stated  that  vio- 
lations were  carried  out  quite  publicly  by  the  road- 
side and  in  the  fields;   he  saw  several  cases. 

'*  Another  witness,  the  butcher  who  roasted  the 
sheep  for  the  troops,  saw  two  young  women,  whom 
he  named,  violated  by  three  soldiers  beside  his  oven. 
Infantry  arrived  on  Monday,  and  shortly  afterwards 
the  village  was  set  on  fire.  During  Sunday  i}ight 
and  on  Monday  morning  many  of  the  villagers  were 
slaughtered.  It  is  impossible  to  form  an  estimate 
of  the  number,  for  our  witnesses  were  in  hiding  and 
each  saw  only  a  small  part  of  what  occurred.  One 
of  them  estimated  the  number  at  fifty,  but  this  was 
clearly  only  a  guess.  We  have  before  us  a  list  from 
a  Bulgarian  source  of  356  persons  from  seven  vil- 
lages who  have  disappeared  and  are  believed  to  have 
been  killed  at  Akanjeli.  Turks  from  neighbouring 
villages  joined  in  the  pillage  under  the  eyes  of  the 
Greek  soldiers  and  their  officers.  The  facts  which 
emerge  clearly  from  our  depositions  are  (1)  that 
the  village  submitted  from  the  first;  (2)  that  it  was 
sacked  and  burned;  (3)  that  the  Greek  troops  gave 
themselves  up  openly  and  generally  to  a  debauch 
of  lust;  (4)  that  many  of  the  peasants  were  killed 
wantonly  and  without  provocation. 

**  It  would  serve  no  purpose  to  encumber  this  ac- 


174  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

count  of  the  Greek  march  with  further  narratives. 
They  all  convey  the  same  impression.  Wherever 
the  peasants  ventured  to  await  the  arrival  of  the 
Greek  troops  in  their  villages,  they  had  the  same 
experience.  The  village  was  sacked  and  the  women 
were  violated  before  it  was  burned,  and  non-com- 
batants w^ere  wantonly  butchered,  sometimes  in  twos 
or  threes,  sometimes  in  larger  numbers.  We  would 
call  attention  particularly  to  two  of  these  narratives 
—  that  of  Anastasia  Pavlova,  an  elderly  woman  of 
the  middle  class,  who  told  her  painful  and  dramatic 
story  with  more  intelligence  and  feeling  than  most  of 
the  peasant  witnesses.  Like  them,  she  suffered  vio- 
lation; she  was  robbed,  and  beaten,  and  witnessed 
the  dishonour  of  other  women  and  the  slaughter  of 
non-combatant  men.  Her  evidence  relates  in  part  to 
the  taking  of  the  town  of  Gevgheli.  Gevgheli,  which 
is  a  mixed  town,  was  not  burned,  but  a  reliable  Eu- 
ropean, well  acquainted  with  the  town,  and  kno\vn 
to  one  member  of  the  commission  as  a  man  of  hon- 
our and  ability,  stated  that  fully  two  hundred  Bul- 
garian civilians  were  killed  there  on  the  entry  of 
the  Greek  army. 

"  Another  deposition  to  which  we  would  partic- 
ularly call  attention  is  that  of  Athanas  Ivanoff,  who 
was  an  eye-witness  of  the  violation  of  six  women 
and  the  murder  of  nine  men  in  the  village  of  I^r- 
tchevo.  His  story  is  interesting  because  he  states 
that  one  Greek  soldier  who  protested  against  the 
brutality  of  his  comrades  was  overruled  by  his  ser- 
geant, and  further  that  the  order  to  kill  the  men 
was  given  by  officers.    It  is  probable  that  some  hun- 


Greek  Atrocities  in  the  Balkan  Wars     175 

dreds  of  peasants  were  killed  at  Kirtchevo  and  Ger- 
man in  a  deliberate  massacre,  carried  out  with  gross 
treachery  and  cruelty.  For  these  depositions  the 
commission  assumes  responsibility,  in  the  sense  that 
it  believes  that  the  witnesses  told  the  truth;  and, 
further,  that  it  took  every  care  to  ascertain  by  ques- 
tioning them  whether  any  obvious  excuse,  such  as 
a  disorderly  resistance  by  irregulars  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, could  be  adduced.  These  depositions  re- 
late to  the  conduct  of  the  Greek  troops  in  ten  vil- 
lages. We  should  hesitate  to  generalize  from  this 
basis  (save  as  to  the  fact  that  villages  were  almost 
everywhere  burned),  but  we  are  able  to  add  in  the 
appendix  a  summary  of  a  large  number  of  deposi- 
tions taken  from  refugees  by  Professor  Miletich  of 
Sofia  University.  While  it  can  not  assume  personal 
responsibility  for  this  evidence,  the  commission  has 
every  confidence  in  the  thoroughness  with  which 
Professor  Miletich  performed  his  task. 

"  This  great  mass  of  evidence  goes  to  show  that 
there  was  nothing  singular  in  the  cases  which  the 
commission  itself  investigated.  In  one  instance  a 
number  of  liUropeans  witnessed  the  brutal  conduct 
of  a  detachment  of  Greek  regulars  under  three  of- 
ficers. Fifteen  wounded  Bulgarian  soldiers  took 
refuge  in  the  Catholic  convent  of  Paliortsi,  near 
Gevgheli,  and  were  nursed  by  the  sisters.  Father 
Alloati  reported  this  fact  to  the  Greek  commandant, 
whereupon  a  detachment  was  sent  to  search  the  con- 
vent for  a  certain  Bulgarian  voivoda  (chief  of 
bands)  named  Arghyr,  who  was  not  there.  In  the 
course  of  the  search  a   Bulgarian  Catholic  priest, 


176  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Father  Treptche,  and  the  Armenian  doctor  of  the 
convent  were  severely  flogged  in  the  presence  of 
the  Greek  officers.  A  Greek  soldier  attempted  to 
violate  a  nun,  and  during  the  search  a  sum  of  £T300 
was  stolen.  Five  Bulgarian  women  and  a  young 
girl  were  put  to  the  torture,  and  a  large  number  of 
peasants  carried  off  to  prison  for  no  good  reason. 
The  officer  in  command  threatened  to  kill  Father 
Alloatti  on  the  spot  and  to  burn  down  the  convent. 
If  such  things  could  be  done  to  Europeans  in  a  build- 
ing under  the  protection  of  the  French  flag,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  believe  that  Bulgarian  peasants  fared 
incomparably  worse. 

'*  The  commission  regrets  that  the  attitude  of  the 
Greek  government  toward  its  work  has  prevented  it 
from  obtaining  any  official  answer  to  the  charges 
which  emerge  from  this  evidence.  The  broad  fact 
that  the  whole  of  this  Bulgarian  region,  for  a  dis- 
tance of  about  one  hundred  miles,  was  devastated 
and  nearly  every  village  burned,  admits  of  no  denial. 
Nor  do  we  think  that  military  necessity  could  be 
pleaded  with  any  plausibility.  The  Greeks  were 
numerically  greatly  superior  to  their  enemy,  and  so 
far  as  we  are  aware,  their  flanks  were  not  harassed, 
nor  their  communications  threatened  by  guerillas, 
who  might  have  found  shelter  in  the  villages.  The 
Greeks  did  not  wait  for  any  provocation  of  this  kind, 
but  everywhere  burned  the  villages,  step  by  step 
with  their  advance.  The  slaughter  of  peasant  men 
could  be  defended  only  if  they  had  been  taken  in 
the  act  of  resistance  with  arms  in  their  hands.  No 
such  explanation  will  fit  the  cases  on  which  we  have 


Greek  Atrocities  in  the  Balkan  Wars     177 

particularly  laid  stress,  nor  have  any  of  the  war 
correspondents  who  followed  the  Greek  army  re 
ported  conflicts  along  the  main  line  of  the  Greek 
march  with  armed  villagers.  The  violation  of 
women  admits  of  no  excuse;  it  can  only  be  denied. 
"  Denial  unfortunately  is  impossible.  No  verdict 
which  could  be  based  on  the  evidence  collected  by 
the  commission  could  be  more  severe  than  that 
which  Greek  soldiers  have  pronounced  upon  them- 
selves. It  happened  that  on  the  eve  of  the  armistice 
(July  27)  the  Bulgarians  captured  the  baggage  of 
the  nineteenth  Greek  infantry  regiment  at  Dobri- 
nichte  (Razlog).  It  included  its  post-bags,  together 
with  the  file  of  its  telegraphic  orders,  and  some  of 
its  accounts.  We  were  permitted  to  examine  these 
documents  at  our  leisure  in  the  Foreign  OfTice  at 
Sofia.  The  file  of  telegrams  and  accounts  presented 
no  feature  of  interest.  The  soldiers'  letters  were 
written  often  in  pencil  on  scraps  of  paper  of  every 
sort  and  size.  Some  were  neatly  folded  without 
envelopes.  Some  were  written  on  souvenir  paper 
commemorating  the  war,  and  others  on  oflficial 
sheets.  Most  of  them  bore  the  regimental  postal 
stamp.  Four  or  five  were  on  stamped  business 
paper  belonging  to  a  Turkish  firm  in  Seres,  which 
some  Greek  soldier  had  presumably  taken  while 
looting  the  shop.  The  greater  number  of  the  letters 
were  of  no  public  interest,  and  simply  informed  the 
family  at  home  that  the  writer  was  well,  and  that 
his  friends  were  well  or  ill  or  wounded,  as  the  case 
might  be.  Many  of  these  letters  still  await  exam- 
ination.   We  studied  with  particular  care  a  series 


178  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

of  twenty-five  letters,  wliicli  contained  defiinite  avow- 
als by  these  Greek  soldiers  of  the  brutalities  which 
they  had  practised.  Two  members  of  the  commis- 
sion have  some  knowledge  of  modern  Greek.  We 
satisfied  ourselves  (1)  that  the  letters  (mostly  illit- 
erate and  ill  written)  had  been  carefully  deciphered 
and  honestly  translated;  (2)  that  the  interesting 
portions  of  the  letters  were  in  the  same  handwriting 
as  the  addresses  on  the  envelopes  (which  bore  the 
official  stamp)  and  the  portions  which  related  only 
fjersonal  news;  (3)  that  no  tampering  with  the 
manuscripts  had  been  practised.  Some  minor  errors 
and  inaccuracies  are  interesting,  as  an  evidence  of 
authenticity.  Another  letter  is  dated  by  error  July 
15  (old  style),  though  the  post-bags  were  captured 
on  the  14th  (27th).  "We  noted,  moreover,  that  more 
than  one  slip  (including  an  error  of  grammar)  had 
been  made  by  the  Bulgarian  secretary  in  transcri- 
bing the  addresses  of  the  letters  from  Greek  into 
Latin  script  —  a  proof  that  he  did  not  know  enough 
Greek  to  invent  them.  But  it  is  unnecessary  to 
dwell  on  these  minor  evidences  of  authenticity.  The 
letters  have  been  published  in  facsimile.  The  ad- 
dresses and  the  signatures  are  those  of  real  people. 
If  they  had  been  wronged  by  some  incredibly  inge- 
nious forger,  the  Greek  government  would  long  ago 
have  brought  these  soldiers  before  some  impartial 
tribunal  to  prove  by  specimens  of  their  genuine 
handwriting  that  they  did  not  write  these  letters. 
The  commission,  in  short,  is  satisfied  that  the  letters 
are  genuine. 

''  The  letters  require  no  commentary.     Some  of 


Greek  Atrocities  in  the  Balkan  Wars     179 

the  writers  boast  of  the  cruelties  practised  by  the 
Greek  army.  Others  deplore  them.  The  statements 
of  fact  are  simple,  brutal,  and  direct,  and  always 
to  the  same  effect.  These  soldiers  all  state  that  they 
everywhere  burned  the  Bulgarian  villages.  Two 
boast  of  the  massacre  of  prisoners  of  war.  One 
remarks  that  all  the  girls  they  met  with  were  vio- 
lated. Most  of  the  letters  dwell  on  the  slaughter 
of  non-combatants,  including  women  and  children. 
These  few  extracts,  each  from  a  separate  letter,  may 
suffice  to  convey  their  general  tenor: 

*'  *  By  order  of  the  king  we  are  setting  fire  to 
all  the  Bulgarian  villages,  because  the  Bulgarians 
burned  the  beautiful  town  of  Seres,  Nigrita,  and 
several  Greek  villages.  We  have  shown  ourselves 
far  more  cruel  than  the  Bulgarians.  We  have  vio- 
lated all  the  young  girls  whom  we  met.  *  *  *  » 

"  '  Here  we  are  burning  the  villages  and  killing 
the  Bulgarians,  both  women  and  children.  *  *  *  ' 

*'  '  We  took  only  a  few  [prisoners],  and  these  we 
killed,  for  such  are  the  orders  we  have  received.' 

'*  '  We  have  to  burn  the  villages  —  such  is  the 
order  —  slaugliter  the  young  people  and  spare  only 
the  old  people  and  the  children.  *  *  *  ' 

'^  *  What  is  done  to  the  Bulgarians  is  indescriba- 
ble ;  also  to  the  Bulgarian  peasants.  It  was  a 
butchery.  There  is  not  a  Bulgarian  town  or  village 
but  is  burned.' 

"  *  We  massacre  all  the  Bulgarians  who  fall  into 
our  hands  and  burn  the  villages.' 

"  *  Of  the  twelve  hundred  prisoners  we  took  at 
Nigrita,  only  forty-one  remain  in  the  prisons,  and 


180  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

everywhere  we  have  been  we  have  not  left  a  single 
root  of  this  race' 

"  *  We  picked  out  their  eyes  [five  Bulgarian  pris- 
oners] while  they  were  still  alive.' 

**  *  The  Greek  army  sets  fire  to  all  the  villages 
where  there  are  Bulgarians  and  massacres  all  it 
meets.  *  *  *  God  knows  where  this  will  end.' 

"  These  letters  relieve  us  of  the  task  of  summing 
up  the  evidence.  From  Kukush  to  the  Bulgarian 
frontier  the  Greek  army  devastated  the  villages, 
violated  the  women,  and  slaughtered  the  non-com- 
batant men.  The  order  to  carry  out  reprisals  was 
evidently  obeyed.  We  repeat,  however,  that  these 
reprisals  began  before  the  Bulgarian  provocation. 
A  list  of  Bulgarian  villages  burned  by  the  Greek 
army  conveys  some  measure  of  this  ruthless  dev- 
astation. At  Seres  the  Bulgarians  destroyed  four 
thousand  houses  in  the  conflagration  which  followed 
the  fighting  in  the  streets.  The  ruin  of  this  con- 
siderable town  has  impressed  the  imagination  of  the 
civilized  world.  Systematically  and  in  cold  blood 
the  Greeks  burned  one  hundred  and  sixty  Bulgarian 
villages  and  destroyed  at  least  sLxteen  thousand  Bul- 
garian homes.    The  figures  need  no  commentary." 

With  reference  to  the  Greek  letters  found  in  the 
Razlog  district,  it  may  be  noted  that  some  of  the 
Greek  journals  pronounced  them  forgeries  and  de- 
clared that  there  were  no  persons  in  Greece  with 
the  names  of  the  writers  of  the  letters  and  no  Greeks 
bearing  the  names  of  the  persons  to  whom  they  were 
addressed.  The  Carnegie  commission  made  a  care- 
ful examination  of  the  letters  and  pronounced  them 


Greek  Atrocities  in  the  Balkan  Wars     181 

authentic.  Since  the  publication  of  the  report,  an 
investigation  made  in  the  United  States  with  refer- 
ence to  the  names  and  addresses  given  in  three  of 
the  letters  have  been  verified.  These  letters  were 
to  friends  or  relatives  in  New  York,  Wisconsin,  and 
Minnesota.  An  investigation  has  located  the  Greeks 
bearing  tlie  names  and  living  at  the  addresses  given 
in  the  three  letters  in  question. 


CHAPTER    XIII 

THE   PEOPLE    OP   BULGAKIA 

Ethnically  the  Bulgars  of  Finnic  stock  —  Physical  characteristics  — 
Mental  traits  —  Industry  and  frugality  —  Peasant  costumes  — 
Standards  of  morality  —  The  community  home  —  Bulgarian  lan- 
guage —  Literacy  of  the  people  —  Spirit  of  toleration  —  Jews  in 
Bulgaria  —  Gypsies  —  Greeks  —  Their  characteristic  ethical  de- 
fects —  The  Kutzo-Vlacks. 

Although  the  Bulgars  are  usually  classed  as 
Slavs,  the  original  ethnic  stock  came  from  the  Fin- 
nic group  of  the  Sibiric  branch  of  the  Turanian  race 
in  Asia.  The  forebears  of  the  Bulgarians  were  kin 
to  the  Tatars,  Finns,  and  Huns.  We  first  hear  of 
them  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries,  when  they 
occupied  tracts  of  land  between  the  Ural  mountains 
and  the  Volga  river.  In  the  seventh  century  they 
crossed  the  Danube,  subjugated  the  Slavic  tribes  in 
the  Balkan  peninsula,  and  took  over  the  language, 
customs,  and  institutions  of  the  conquered  Slavs. 

Outwardly  the  Bulgars  are  not  an  attractive  peo- 
ple, for  the  Turanian  element  in  the  physiognomy 
is  too  pronounced  to  be  beautiful.  They  are  some- 
what below  the  medium  in  stature,  broad-shouldered, 
wide-chested,  strongly  built,  and  have  admirably 
developed  legs.  The  face  is  round,  the  nose  straight 
or  slightly  curved,  the  hair  dark  blond  or  black, 
the  complexion  muddy,  the  eyes  slightly  slanting, 
the  eyebrows  thick,  and  the  cheek-bones  and  chin 

182 


The  People  of  Bulgaria  183 

well  developed.  The  expression  of  the  face  is  seri- 
ous and  energetic.  Vazoff's  characterization  of 
Marko  in  Under  the  Yoke,  *'  he  had  a  serious  and 
somewhat  stem  expression  even  when  he  smiled," 
might  be  applied  to  the  Bulgars  in  general. 

The  Bulgars  are  thrifty  agriculturists  and  labori- 
ous husbandmen.  They  are  practical  and  stolid  and 
have  inexhaustible  powers  of  silence  and  self-re- 
straint. They  are  hard-working  and  economical 
peasants  "  with  all  the  peasant's  meannesses  and 
prejudices,  but  also  with  all  the  peasant's  virtues 
of  frugality  and  industry." 

While  uncommunicative  and  cautious,  and  inclined 
to  be  suspicious,  the  Bulgars  are  not  boasters  or 
agitators,  and  "  they  do  not  claim  an  imagined 
superiority  or  flaunt  their  nationality  "  like  some 
of  the  other  Balkan  races.  They  fulfill  their  duties 
in  life  quietly  and  understandingly.  While  sensi- 
tive to  foreign  criticism,  the  author  has  always 
found  them  willing  to  discuss  defects  of  the  national 
character  and  institutions  with  characteristic  frank- 
ness. 

Professor  Jiricek,  the  distinguished  Bohemian 
historian,  who  lived  in  the  country  for  many  years, 
writes:  "  Tlic  Bulgarian  is  sober  in  every  respect, 
careful  in  his  expenditures,  and  hard-working.  The 
energy  he  displays  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  is 
remarkable.  Under  the  exterior  of  peasant  cunning 
and  suspiciousness,  the  Bulgar  conceals  a  shrewd 
and  observant  mind.  Being  both  docile  and  con- 
scientious, whether  as  student,  soldier,  artisan  or 
trader,   he   identifies   himself   completely   with   the 


184  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

work  he  undertakes.  The  whole  mode  of  life  of  the 
people  is  simple  and  frugal."  ' 

Foreigners  who  best  know  the  Bulgar  character 
credit  it  with  patience,  perseverance,  and  great 
power  of  physical  endurance.  An  English  author 
says  of  the  race :  ' '  The  Bulgarian  is  truly  a  son  of 
the  soil,  wedded  to  the  uncompromising  earth  whose 
very  qualities  he  seems  to  have  drawn  into  his  being. 
Unequalled  obstinacy  and  tenacity  of  purpose,  com- 
bined with  the  most  practical  point  of  view,  prom- 
ise great  things  for  his  race.  Frugal  and  taciturn, 
he  has  none  of  the  thoughtless  cheeriness  of  the 
Rumanian,  the  expansiveness  of  the  Serb,  or  the 
dreamy  unpractical  idealism  of  the  Russian.  He 
resembles  rather  the  Lowland  Scot,  and  carries  his 
many  admirable  qualities  beneath  an  exterior  which 
is  not  every  one's  good  fortune  to  penetrate." 

William  Miller  makes  this  contrast  between  the 
Montenegrin  and  the  Bulgar:  "  Put  the  two  in  a 
drawing-room,  and  the  Montenegrin,  who  has  never 
bowed  his  neck  to  a  foreign  master,  will  look  and 
behave  like  a  gentleman,  while  the  Bulgar  will  look 
and  behave  like  a  peasant.  But  put  the  two  upon 
a  waste  plot  of  ground,  the  Bulgar  will  convert  it 
into  a  garden  of  roses,  while  the  Montenegrin  will 
look  on."  This  is  not  to  say  that  there  are  not  many 
highly  educated  and  refined  people  in  Bulgaria. 
But  taken  as  a  whole,  they  are  a  nation  of  peasants. 

There  are  neither  rich  people  nor  paupers  in  the 


1  Das  Furslenlhum  Bulqarien:  seine  Bodengestnltung ,  Nalur,  Bevdl- 
kcrung,  W irthsrhaftlirhe  Zustande,  gcistige  Cultur,  SUjatst'crfassung  iind 
neuesie  Gcschichte.    Von  Constantine  J.  Jiricek.    Prague,  1891,  pp.  573. 


TYI'ICAL,    UULUAKIAN    COSTIIMK 


The  People  of  Bulgaria  185 

country,  and  the  peasant  farmers  have  few  wants 
that  they  themselves  cannot  satisfy.  Even  among 
those  engaged  in  trade  and  commerce,  life  is  simple. 
Luxuries  scarcely  exist.  The  people  are  temperate 
in  both  eating  and  drinking.  There  is  no  horse- 
racing  and  little  card-playing.  While  markedly  less 
emotional  than  the  other  races  of  the  Balkan  penin- 
sula, the  Bulgars  are  kindly,  hospitable,  and  chiv- 
alrous. 

Mrs.  Stobart,  who  directed  the  Woman's  Convoy 
Corps  of  England  during  the  first  Balkan  war  (her 
entire  corps  of  physicians,  surgeons,  nurses,  etc., 
being  composed  of  women),  pays  this  tribute  to  the 
Bulgarian  peasant  soldiers:  "  I  was  prepared  for 
the  possibility  of  annoyance  from  men  who,  in  a 
Turkish  environment,  would  be  unaccustomed  to 
seeing  such  work  conducted  solely  by  women.  But 
Bulgarian  men  of  all  classes  could  give  lessons  to 
the  men  of  most  of  the  nations  of  Europe  in  their 
attitude  towards  women.  Our  doctors  and  nurses 
corroborated  to  their  last  day  in  the  hospital  the 
impressions  gained  at  the  first  —  that  in  qualities 
of  courtesy,  respect,  and  gratitude,  no  patients  could 
surpass  these  Bulgarian  peasant  soldiers."* 

Bulgaria  is  essentially  a  peasant  state  and  the 
peasant  costumes  continue  to  be  more  generally  worn 
than  in  the  other  countries  of  Europe.  Embroidery 
is  an  important  feature  of  the  dress  of  the  women, 
and  most  of  it  is  highly  artistic.  The  garments  of 
the  women  hang  loosely  from  the  shoulders  and  they 

»  War  and  Women.  By  Mrs.  St.  Clair  Stobart.  London,  1913,  pp. 
239. 


186  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

are  unfettered  by  corsets  or  belts.  The  skirts  are 
narrow  and  short,  and  underneath  there  is  a  long 
white  petticoat  which  reaches  to  the  ankles,  and 
which  has  beautiful  insertion  trimmings  exposed 
below  the  skirt  line.  Colour  plays  an  important  part 
in  the  jackets  and  aprons,  but  the  colours  vary  in 
different  provinces.  Coloured  handkerchiefs  are 
twisted  into  the  plaits  of  hair  that  fall  down  the 
back.  Gold  and  silver  ornaments  and  strings  of 
coins  are  worn  about  the  neck. 

The  men  in  the  district  of  Sofia  wear  white  serge 
trousers  braided  in  black,  and  less  baggy  than  those 
worn  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  The  white  shirts 
are  embroidered  with  red,  as  is  also  the  black  jacket 
that  comes  to  the  waist  and  has  a  sort  of  a  flap  fall- 
ing over  behind.  A  red  sash  is  worn  about  the  waist 
and  the  outer  coat  is  of  sheepskin.  The  fez,  so  long 
worn  by  the  men,  has  been  abandoned  for  the  kal- 
pak  or  lambskin  cap.  Sheepskins  and  home-made 
woollen,  linen,  and  cotton  cloth  provide  the  materials 
for  the  dress  of  the  peasants. 

Missionaries  and  other  foreigners  familiar  with 
social  conditions  in  the  Balkans  have  repeatedly 
assured  the  author  that  the  standard  of  sexual  mo- 
rality is  higher  in  Bulgaria  than  in  the  other  states 
of  the  peninsula.  Illegitimacy  is  very  rare.  Mar- 
riage occurs  early  in  life  and  families  are  very  large. 

The  community  home  formerly  occupied  a  prom- 
inent place  in  the  family  life  of  Bulgaria.  The  home 
community  {zadruga)  is  a  patriarchal  institution 
that  dates  back  to  early  times.  Related  family 
groups,  sometimes  ten  or  a  dozen  in  number,  dwell 


A     lUHi.MUAN     ri;\S\Nl', 


The  People  of  Bulgaria  187 

together  on  a  farm  and  observe  communistic  prin- 
ciples. The  property  descends  from  generation  to 
generation  to  the  family  gronp.  The  association  is 
ruled  by  a  house-father  and  a  house-mother,  who 
assign  to  tlie  different  members  tlieir  respective 
tasks.  Community  groups  are  usually  composed  of 
grandparents  with  their  married  children  and 
grandchildren.  The  recent  adoption  of  a  law  of 
succession  has  tended  to  reduce  the  number  of  com- 
munity homes  by  dividing  the  property  among  the 
various  members  of  the  family. 

With  the  disappearance  of  the  community  home 
there  has  been  marked  development  of  cooperative 
associations.  In  1900  there  were  only  six  coopera- 
tive societies  in  Bulgaria ;  to-day  there  are  nine 
hundred  thirty-one. 

The  language  of  the  Bulgars  belongs  to  the  east- 
em  branch  of  the  Slavic  family  of  tongues,  but  it 
has  undergone  more  modifications  than  any  other 
Slavic  speech.  The  highly  synthetic  character  of 
the  Slavic  languages  is  only  slightlj^  apparent  in 
the  Bulgar.  It  is  the  only  Slavic  language  that  has 
articles  wliich  are  attached  to  the  terminations  of 
nouns  and  adjectives,  and  it  is  the  only  Slavic  lan- 
guage that  makes  use  of  the  infinitive.  Cases  have 
disappeared,  and  instead  of  declining  the  nouns, 
prepositions  are  used,  as  in  English.  Some  of  the 
dialects  of  remote  sections,  as  well  as  a  few  of  the 
old  ballads,  show  traces  of  the  inflection  of  nouns, 
thus  proving  the  antiquity  of  the  language.  After 
the  fall  of  the  old  Bulgarian  empire,  Greek  was  sub- 
stituted for  the  literary  language  of  the  people,  and 


188  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

for  nearly  five  centuries  the  native  language  was 
used  only  as  an  oral  speech  by  the  peasants.  The 
Kyrillic  characters  are  used  in  the  written  language, 
and  the  thirty-three  letters  of  this  alphabet  make 
ampler  provision  for  the  representation  of  sounds 
than  is  the  case  with  the  Latin  alphabet. 

Although  a  nation  of  peasants,  and  more  recently 
liberated  from  Turkish  rule  than  the  other  Balkan 
states,  education  is  more  wide-spread  in  Bulgaria 
and  the  percentage  of  illiteracy  is  lower  than  in 
Rumania,  Servia,  Montenegro,  or  Greece.  Educa- 
tion was  practically  denied  the  peasants  during  the 
five  centuries  of  Turkish  rule;  and  when  they  ac- 
quired independence  thirty-six  years  ago,  illiteracy 
was  general.  In  1880  the  percentage  of  illiteracy 
among  army  recruits  was  90 ;  in  1910  it  was  10  per 
cent.,  and  in  1913  it  was  only  5  per  cent.  While 
an  industrious  and  provident  people,  the  keen  sense 
of  what  is  practical  has  given  them  a  correct  notion 
of  the  value  of  mental  training,  and  they  have  vol- 
untarily made  large  financial  sacrifices  for  the 
speedy  establishment  of  an  efficient  educational  ma- 
chinery. 

Bulgars  constitute  four-fifths  of  the  population 
of  the  kingdom.  The  non-Bulgar  fifth  is  composed 
of  Turks,  gypsies,  Greeks,  Albanians,  Vlacks,  Arme- 
nians, and  Jews;  and  the  Turks  comprise  one- 
fourth  of  the  non-Bulgar  fifth  of  the  population. 
The  spirit  of  racial  and  religious  toleration,  which 
is  a  marked  characteristic  of  the  Bulgarian  peo- 
ple, has  averted  the  exodus  of  the  Ottoman  pop- 
ulation that  has  taken  place  in  all  the  other  lost 


(iUori'    Ol'    I'KASANTS. 


The  People  of  Bulgaria  189 

provinces  of  the  Turk.  The  Moslems  and  the  Jews 
in  Bulgaria  have  known  nothing  of  the  bitter  race 
antagonisms  that  their  compatriots  in  the  other 
Balkan  states  have  had  to  face.  Jews  and  Turks  are 
not  only  represented  in  the  national  assembly,  but 
they  occupy  posts  of  honour  in  the  civil  service  of 
the  country. 

Jews  claim  to  have  resided  in  Bulgaria  since  the 
days  of  Roman  rule  under  Trajan.  Krum,  one  of 
the  earliest  Bulgar  rulers,  is  said  to  have  brought 
large  numbers  of  Jewish  prisoners  from  Thessaly 
in  the  year  811.  Many  Byzantine  Jews  established 
themselves  at  Nicopolis,  Sofia,  Vidin  and  Silistria 
during  the  tenth  century;  and  during  the  Asen  dy- 
nasty a  large  number  of  Jewish  merchants  from 
Ragusa,  Venice,  and  Geneva  became  identified  with 
the  business  affairs  of  the  country.  During  the  cen- 
turies that  the  Turks  were  masters  of  the  peninsula, 
the  Jews  were  less  persecuted  than  in  any  country 
in  Europe. 

With  the  organization  of  the  rehabilitated  Bul- 
garian principality  the  Jews  were  accorded  full  civil 
rights.  They  enjoy  the  privilege  of  suffrage;  are 
eligible  to  all  the  elective  offices  in  the  country;  are 
subject  to  military  service;  and  enjoy  the  right  of 
military  promotion.  Each  Jewish  community  is 
governed  by  a  special  synagogical  committee  in  all 
matters  touching  religion,  and  the  national  govern- 
ment makes  special  grants  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  Hebrew  clergy.  The  cities  in  which  Jews  are 
found  in  considerable  numbers  are  Sofia,  Rustchuk, 
Philippopolis,  and  Vidin. 


190  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Gypsies  constitute  about  two  per  cent,  of  the  pop- 
ulation of  the  kingdom.  They  are  scattered  through- 
out the  country,  but  have  more  settled  abodes  in 
Bulgaria  than  in  the  other  countries  of  eastern  Eu- 
rope. The  men  are  engaged  in  such  occupations  as 
black-smithing,  horse-breeding,  and  horse  hire.  Pov- 
erty is  less  in  e^ddence  than  among  the  members  of 
their  race  in  the  other  Balkan  states.  The  men  are 
tall,  handsome  fellows,  and  many  of  them  are  the 
finest  physical  types  to  be  seen  in  the  country.  They 
wear  long  flowing  trousers  held  at  the  waist  by  a 
sash,  and  the  conventional  Turkish  fez.  So  far  as 
they  profess  any  creed  at  all,  it  is  that  of  the  Mo- 
hammedan church.  The  Bulgarian  government  has 
made  strenuous  efforts  to  bring  the  gypsy  children 
within  the  pale  of  the  compulsory  education  law, 
but  with  little  success.  Gypsy  children  are  taught 
by  their  parents  to  beg  as  soon  as  they  can  walk, 
and  when  they  groAv  older  they  are  disciplined  in 
the  art  of  theft. 

The  Greeks  of  Bulgaria  are  found  almost  entirely 
in  the  larger  cities  of  the  interior  and  the  maritime 
towns  on  the  Black  sea.  They  have  strong  aptitude 
for  trade  and  possess  great  subtlety  in  monetary 
transactions,  although  they  are  regarded  as 
markedly  deficient  in  practical  ethics  as  compared 
with  the  other  races  of  the  kingdom.  "  The  cun- 
ning of  the  Greek,"  remarks  a  foreign  writer  in 
this  connection,  "  comes  very  near  fraud,  and  he 
lies  in  the  most  impudent  manner.  He  is  noisy, 
blustering,  and  obsequious.  He  has  never  been  able 
to  cure  himself  of  cheating.    If  he  is  a  sharp,  intelli- 


The  People  of  Bulgaria  191 

gent  mercliant,  that  is  not  to  say  he  is  an  honest 
one. 


j>  1 


There  are  several  villages  of  Vlacks  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Vidin  and  numerous  Kutzo- Vlacks  in  the 
Khodope  mountains.  The  latter  are  a  pastoral  peo- 
ple with  a  shy  preference  for  mountain  dwellings. 
Their  speech  is  a  Latin  tongue  that  has  been  cut  off 
from  Latin  culture,  and  the  enrichment  of  the  lan- 
guage that  has  come  to  the  other  Romance  tongues 
through  direct  study  of  the  classical  Latin  literature. 
The  Vlacks  of  Bulgaria  are  an  unlettered  folk ;  and, 
so  far  as  their  isolated  and  migratory  life  has  per- 
mitted them  to  acquire  any  culture,  it  has  been  from 
the  Orthodox  church  and  the  Greek  literature.  They 
are  a  timid  people,  living  apart  from  the  other  races ; 
and  although  professing  the  same  religion  as  the 
Bulgars,  they  seldom  intermarry  with  them.  By 
occupation  they  are  shepherds,  inn-keepers,  and  car- 
riers in  the  mountainous  districts, 

»  The  Evil  of  the  East.    By  Keanin  Bey.    London,  1888,  pp.  327. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

HOW   BULGARIA   IS   GOVEBNED 

Fundamental  principles  of  the  Bulgarian  constitution  —  Executive 
powers  —  The  national  assembly  —  How  constituted  —  A  unique 
electoral  law  —  Representation  of  minorities  —  Charges  of  unfair 
elections  —  The  grand  sobranje  —  Sources  of  revenue  —  Local 
government  in  Bulgaria  —  Municipal  councils  —  The  judiciary  — 
Bulgaria  a  wftll  governed  state  —  Political  parties  —  Conservatives 
and  liberals  —  Other  parties. 

Bulgaria  was  created  by  the  treaty  of  Berlin  the 
13th  of  July,  1878.  It  constituted  the  country  an 
autonomous  and  tributary  principality  under  the 
suzerainty  of  the  sultan  of  Turkey  with  a  Christian 
governor  and  a  national  militia.  The  treaty  pro- 
vided that  the  prince  should  be  freely  elected  by  the 
people  and  confirmed  by  the  SuWime  Porte  with  the 
consent  of  the  great  powers.  It  further  stipulated 
that  no  member  of  the  reigning  houses  of  the  great 
powers  should  be  eligible  to  the  post.  Bulgaria 
declared  her  independence  from  Turkey  the  5th  of 
October,  1908. 

The  fundamental  principles  of  the  Bulgarian  con- 
stitution are  (1)  separation  of  governmental  au- 
thorities into  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial; 
(2)  perfect  equality  oi  citizens  as  regards  civil  and 
political  rights;  (3)  inviolability  of  person,  resi- 
dence, property,  and  correspondence;  (4)  liberty 
of  conscience,  press,  and  public  meetings;  (5)  di- 
rect and  secret  universal  manhood  suffrage,  and  (6) 

192 


How  Bulgaria  Is  Governed  193 

local  self-government.  The  constitution  consists  of 
one  hundred  sixty-nine  clauses,  grouped  into  twenty- 
two  chapters.^  It  follows  in  the  main  the  consti- 
tution of  Belgium. 

Bulgaria  is  a  constitutional  monarchy.  Heredity 
descends  in  the  direct  male  line.  The  king  must 
profess  the  national  Orthodox  faith,  only  the  first 
and  second  rulers  being  released  from  this  obliga- 
tion. Legislative  power  is  vested  in  the  king  in 
conjunction  with  the  national  assembly  (sobranje). 
The  king  of  Bulgaria  possesses  larger  powers  than 
those  exercised  by  most  of  the  constitutional  sov- 
ereigns of  Europe.  He  appoints  and  dismisses  the 
members  of  the  ministry'  but  he  cannot  retain  per- 
manently a  cabinet  which  is  not  in  harmony  with 
the  national  assembly.  He  is  the  supreme  head  of 
the  army,  supervises  the  executive  power,  and  rep- 
resents the  nation  in  its  foreign  relations. 

The  executive  power  is  vested  in  a  ministry  of 
ten  members,  representing  the  following  portfolios: 
Foreign  Affairs  and  Public  Worship,  Interior  and 
Public  Health,  Public  Instruction,  Finance,  Justice, 
"War,  Commerce  and  Industry,  Agriculture,  Public 
Works  and  Communications,  and  Railways,  Posts, 
and  Telegraph.  The  cabinet  is  responsible  only  to 
the  king. 

The  national  assembly  is  composed  of  two  hun- 
dred forty-five  members  elected  by  manhood  suffrage 
in  the  proportion  of  one  to  twenty  thousand  of  the 


'  For  the  English  version  of  the  riulgarian  constitution,  see  Consti- 
tution nf  the  Principality  of  Bulgaria.  Parliament  Sessional  Papers  for 
187S-79.    Vol.  80.    London,  1879. 


194  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 


popuUitioii  of  the  country.  Candidates  to  the  na- 
tional assembly  must  be  thirty  years  old  and  able 
to  read  and  write.  The  compensation  to  members 
of  the  assembly  from  the  city  where  it  holds  its  ses- 
sions is  three  dollars  a  day;  to  the  other  members 
four  dollars  a  day,  including  holidays  and  Sundays. 
Travellinfi^  expenses  are  also  paid. 

The  following  classes  of  male  citizens  are  ineli- 
gible to  membership  in  the  national  assembly:  all 
those  engaged  in  actual  military  service;  members 
of  the  clergy ;  individuals  having  contracts  with  the 
government  and  those  having  pecuniary  interest  in 
such  contracts;  and  all  public  officials  (members  of 
the  cabinet  excepted),  mayors  and  assistant  mayors, 
and  other  persons  occupying  public  posts. 

The  electoral  law  of  Bulgaria  is  unique.  It  pro- 
vides for  the  representation  of  minorities  in  the 
national  assembly,  which  makes  the  assembly  truly 
representative  of  the  political  sentiments  of  the 
nation.  The  country  is  divided  into  electoral  dis- 
tricts, but  a  candidate  may  stand  for  election  in 
any  one  district  in  the  kingdom,  upon  the  petition 
of  ten  voters  in  that  district.  The  ballots  are  on 
coloured  papers,  each  party  having  its  own  colour, 
and  the  party  colours  are  duly  registered.  The 
ballots  contain  the  names  of  the  candidates  of  a 
particular  party.  There  are,  however,  blank  spaces 
on  the  ticket,  so  that  a  voter  may  cross  out  the  names 
of  such  candidates  on  the  ticket  of  his  party  for 
whom  he  may  not  care  to  vote,  and  may  add  names 
from  the  tickets  of  other  parties.  These  coloured 
ballots  are  placed  in  envelopes  and  deposited  in  the 


How  Bulgaria  Is  Governed  195 

election  box.  Bulgarians  claim  that  their  system 
makes  easier  the  counting  of  the  votes  and  more 
difficult  efforts  to  tamper  with  the  results. 

The  new  election  law  of  1912  (amending  article 
120  of  the  election  law  of  1911)  provides  that  within 
five  days  from  the  date  of  the  election  the  district 
electoral  colleges  shall  in  public  session  tabulate  the 
votes  cast  in  their  respective  electoral  districts. 
This  tabulation  shall  include  (1)  the  number  of  all 
voters  registered  in  the  district,  (2)  the  number  of 
votes  actually  cast  at  this  particular  election,  (3) 
the  number  of  valid  ballots,  (4)  the  number  of 
spoiled  or  void  ballots,  (5)  the  number  of  votes  cast 
for  the  ticket  of  each  political  party,  and  (6)  the 
number  of  votes  received  by  each  individual  can- 
didate. 

Upon  the  basis  of  the  results,  the  respective  elec- 
toral colleges  determine  the  election  of  the  candi- 
dates to  the  national  assembly  in  the  following  man- 
ner: The  total  number  of  valid  ballots  cast  is  di- 
vided by  the  number  of  representatives  to  be  sent 
from  the  respective  electoral  districts,  plus  one.  If, 
for  example,  a  given  electoral  district  has  a  popu- 
lation of  425,000  inhabitants,  it  will  be  entitled  to 
send  twenty-one  representatives  to  the  national  as- 
sembly, the  basis  of  representation  being  one  assem- 
blyman for  twenty  thousand  of  the  population.  The 
electoral  divisor  being  obtained  by  dividing  the  num- 
ber of  representatives  from  the  district  plus  one  by 
the  total  number  of  votes  cast.  Each  party  ticket 
sends  as  many  of  its  candidates  to  the  national  as- 
sembly as  that  divisor  is  contained  times  in  the  total 


196  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

number  of  votes  cast  for  that  particular  party's 
ticket.  If,  after  such  distribution,  one  or  more  rep- 
resentatives should  remain  unallotted,  then  the  first 
undistributed  representative  is  given  to  the  party 
receiving  the  highest  average  number  of  votes.  In 
the  same  way  any  other  undistributed  representa- 
tives that  may  remain  are  apportioned.  In  case  two 
tickets  should  have  the  same  number  of  votes,  the 
choice  is  determined  by  lot. 

Perhaps  the  workings  of  the  law  may  be  made 
a  bit  clearer  by  the  following  example.  Electoral 
district  A,  with  a  population  of  425,000  inhabitants, 
is  entitled  to  twenty-one  representatives  in  the  na- 
tional assembly.  In  a  given  election  there  are  seven 
tickets  in  the  field,  and  each  ticket,  let  us  say,  re- 
ceives the  following  votes:  liberals,  26,181;  agra- 
rians, 7,226;  nationalists,  5,226;  socialists,  4,985; 
democrats,  4,976 ;  national  liberals,  2,575,  and  young 
liberals,  2,041,  with  a  total  of  53,317  votes  for  the 
seven  parties  in  the  electoral  district.  Dividing 
53,317  by  22  (21  plus  1)  gives  2,423,  which  becomes 
the  electoral  divisor  for  this  particular  election. 
Since  the  young  liberals  received  less  votes  than 
the  electoral  divisor,  this  party  gets  no  representa- 
tion from  electoral  district  A  in  the  national  assem- 
bly. Dividing  consecutively  the  number  of  votes 
cast  for  each  of  the  other  tickets  by  2,423,  the  allot- 
ment of  representatives  stands  as  follows :  liberals, 
10  representatives;  agrarians,  2;  nationalists,  2; 
socialists,  2;  democrats,  2;  and  national  liberals,  2. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  nineteen  of  the  twenty- 
one  representatives  from  electoral  district  A  have 


How  Bulgaria  Is  Governed  197 

been  allotted.  The  two  remaining  places  are  given 
to  the  parties  having  cast  the  highest  average  vote ; 
and  this  average  is  determined  by  adding  one  to  the 
number  of  assignments  to  each  party  for  a  divisor. 
The  liberals  had  a  total  of  26,181  votes;  dividing 
this  number  by  11,  their  average  is  2,380.  The  agra- 
rians received  7,22G  votes ;  dividing  this  number  by 
3,  the  average  is  2,408.  Tlie  nationalists  had  5,333 
votes;  dividing  their  allotment  by  3  gives  1,177. 
The  socialists  received  4,985  votes;  dividing  again 
by  three,  their  average  is  found  to  be  1,1G6.  The 
democrats  received  4,976  votes,  and  this  number 
divided  by  two  gives  1,658.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that 
the  agrarians  had  the  highest  average,  and  the  lib- 
erals the  second  highest  average,  and  these  two  par- 
ties in  consequence  get  each  an  additional  represen- 
tative. 

The  selection  is  made  from  the  candidates  who 
have  received  the  largest  number  of  votes.  Thus, 
if  in  electoral  district  A  the  liberals  had  sixteen 
names  on  their  party  ticket  the  eleven  receiving  the 
largest  number  of  votes  are  declared  elected,  and 
so  with  the  other  tickets  that  are  entitled  to  repre- 
sentation in  the  national  assembly.  The  system 
makes  possible  the  representation  of  minorities  in 
the  sobranje,  and  these  minorities  often  contain  the 
ablest  men  in  the  countr>\  Some  of  the  really  able 
statesmen  in  recent  national  assemblies  have  been 
chosen  by  insignificant  parties.  When,  for  example, 
Alexander  Malinoff  became  prime  minister  his  party 
numbered  one  other  member  in  the  sobranje  besides 
himself. 


198  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

If  one  should  accept  without  examination  the 
charges  of  corruption  and  violence  at  the  polls,  it 
would  be  easy  to  conclude  that  an  absolutely  free 
election  had  never  been  held  in  Bulgaria.  The  highly 
amusing  account  given  by  the  Bulgarian  humourist 
Aleko  ConstantinofY  in  Ins  Bdi  Ganio  *  tends  to 
confirm  this  suspicion.  The  pressure  brought  to 
bear  on  the  elections  by  the  government  party  in 
power  may  have  been  considerable  in  the  days  of 
the  rule  of  Stamboloff  and  the  corrupting  influences 
of  Russia.  But  in  recent  years  elections  have  been 
quiet  and  the  party  in  power  has  probably  influenced 
very  slightly  the  results  of  the  returns.  Even  in 
Stamboloff's  days,  charges  of  governmental  pres- 
sure were  probably  grossly  exaggerated  by  the  vio- 
lent and  rancorous  Russophil  press.  Mr.  Reaman, 
the  English  biographer  of  Stamboloff,  remarks  in 
this  connection:  "  After  every  election  the  oppo- 
sition invariably  produces  a  long  list  of  cases  of 
maltreatment,  and  the  government  as  regularly  piats 
in  a  solemn  and  formal  declaration  that  no  force 
was  ever  used.  It  is,  however,  a  part  of  the  pro- 
gram in  the  elections,  which  everybody  understands 
perfectly  well,  that  some  heads  should  be  broken, 
and  the  complaints  and  lamentations  of  the  defeated 
are  never  treated  seriously.  The  main  returns  are 
not  actually  very  much  interfered  with  by  these 
amenities,  as  it  is  only  in  particular  strongholds  of 
the  opposition,  as  a  rule,  that  the  government  inter- 


*  This  chapter  has  been  translated  into  English  by  Natalie  D.  Son- 
nichsen.  See  The  Independent  (New  York)  for  Jan.  2,  1913.  Vol.  74, 
pp.  31-35, 


How  Bulgaria  Is  G-overned  199 

feres ;  and  in  the  rest  of  the  cases  the  majority  bully 
the  minority,  because  they  are  the  majority,  and 
therefore  would  elect  their  candidate,  even  without 
violence."'  Recent  elections,  it  should  be  said  to 
the  credit  of  the  political  intelligence  of  Bulgarian 
electors,  have  been  conducted  "uith  quiet,  and  few 
charges  of  irregularity  have  been  made. 

The  duration  of  the  national  assembly  is  four 
years.  It  may  be  dissolved  at  any  time  by  the  king, 
but  new  elections  must  take  phice  within  two  months 
from  the  date  of  dissolution.  All  legislative  and 
financial  matters  must  first  be  discussed  and  voted 
by  the  sobranje  and  sanctioned  by  the  king. 
Through  his  ministers  the  king  may  initiate  legis- 
lative measures,  and  he  may  issue  regulations  having 
the  obligatory  force  of  laws  whenever  the  state  is 
threatened  wdth  immediate  internal  or  external  dan- 
ger. Such  measures,  however,  must  be  adopted  by 
the  cabinet  since  they  entail  the  collective  responsi- 
bility of  all  the  ministers;  and  they  must  be  ap- 
proved by  the  national  assembly  at  its  earliest  ses- 
sion. 

The  national  assembly  chooses  its  own  officers, 
consisting  of  a  president,  two  vice-presidents,  and 
secretaries.  Debates  and  voting  are  public,  but  the 
chamber  may  decide  to  sit  with  closed  doors.  Any 
member  of  the  assembly  has  the  right  to  introduce 
bills  if  he  is  supported  by  one-fourth  the  members 
present.  Bulgarian  citizens  have  the  right  to  peti- 
tion the  national  assembly. 

The  national  assembly  consists  of  only  one  cham- 

» Stamboloff.    By  A.  Ilulmc  Bcaman.    Ix)ndon,  1895,  pp.  240. 


200  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

ber.  There  is,  however,  a  grand  national  assembly 
that  meets  by  special  convocation  to  decide  on  mat- 
ters touching  the  revision  of  the  constitution,  acqui- 
sition of  territory,  election  of  a  ruler,  appointment 
of  a  regency,  and  authorization  of  the  sovereign  to 
accept  the  government  of  another  state.  Its  mem- 
bers are  elected  in  precisely  the  same  way  as  the 
members  of  the  national  assembly,  save  that  the 
electoral  unit  for  twenty  thousand  inhabitants  is 
two  instead  of  one. 

The  state  budget  must  be  submitted  annually  for 
the  approval  of  the  national  assembly,  but  it  may 
not  strike  out  or  modify  any  feature  of  the  budget 
without  explaining  the  reasons  which  have  deter- 
mined its  action.  State  loans  may  be  contracted 
only  with  the  consent  of  the  sobranje. 

The  main  source  of  revenue  is  a  direct  land  tax 
of  one-tenth  the  gross  value  of  the  products  of  any 
farm,  calculated  on  the  average  yield  of  the  four 
preceding  years;  tax  levied  on  goats,  sheep,  and 
pigs,  at  the  rate  of  twenty  cents  a  head  for  goats 
and  ten  cents  a  head  for  sheep  and  pigs;  and  also 
direct  tax  on  tobacco,  spirits,  and  playing-cards. 
The  indirect  taxes  come  from  import  and  export 
duties.  There  are  also  excise  duties  upon  all  to- 
bacco grown  in  the  country,  and  upon  the  manufac- 
ture of  spirits  and  cigarette  paper  and  the  produc- 
tion of  salt.  The  imposts  are  made  up  of  fees 
charged  for  registration,  legal  certificates,  pass- 
ports, licenses  to  carry  arms,  fines  levied  by  the 
courts,  and  profits  from  state  railways,  posts,  tele- 
graphs, and  telephones. 


How  Bulgaria  Is  Governed 201 

Local  government  in  Bulgaria  is  under  tlie  control 
of  the  ministry  of  the  interior.  The  kingdom  is 
divided  into  administrative  departments.  At  the 
head  of  each  department  there  is  a  prefect  appointed 
by  royal  decree  upon  the  recommendation  of  the 
minister  of  the  interior.  He  is  the  representative 
of  the  central  government,  and  as  such  represents 
the  executive  authority  of  the  kingdom.  Pie  is  en- 
trusted with  the  control  of  the  towns  and  villages 
in  his  department.  He  is  assisted  by  a  departmental 
council,  which  meets  in  regular  session  one  month 
each  year  to  assess  taxes  in  the  towns  and  villages 
in  the  department,  revise  the  accounts  of  the  differ- 
ent institutions  under  its  control,  and  consult  on  all 
matters  relating  to  proposed  construction  of  rail- 
ways, roads,  etc.,  in  the  department.  Besides  the 
departmental  council  there  is  also  a  medical  council 
that  superintends  the  sanitary  conditions  and  public 
hygiene  in  the  department,  and  an  educational  coun- 
cil that  administers  and  supervises  the  schools  in 
the  department. 

The  departments  are  again  subdivided  into  dis- 
tricts administered  by  sub-prefects,  who  act  as  ju- 
diciary police  and  are  held  responsible  for  the  public 
safety  of  the  district.  Some  of  the  more  important 
centres,  such  as  vSofia,  Philippopolis,  Rustchuk,  and 
Varna,  have  in  addition  city  prefects,  who  exercise 
within  the  limits  of  their  respective  cities  the  func- 
tions of  chief  of  police. 

Town  government  is  the  smallest  unit  in  the  ad- 
ministrative organization  of  the  country.  Every 
Bulgarian  subject  must  belong  to  a  comnmne  and 


202  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

figure  in  its  registers,  the  laws  of  the  country  not 
tolerating  the  state  of  vagrancy.  This  law  has  had 
the  effect  of  forcing  upon  the  gypsies  settled  abodes. 
The  administrative  bodies  in  the  cities,  towns,  and 
rural  communities  are  the  municipal  councils.  The 
members  of  the  municipal  councils  are  elected  by 
universal  suffrage  in  the  same  way  and  subject  to 
the  same  regulations  as  the  members  of  the  national 
assembly.  All  members  of  the  commune  who  are  at 
least  thirty  years  of  age  and  can  read  and  write  are 
eligible  to  membership  in  the  municipal  council. 
Those  electors  who  have  completed  a  secondary 
school  course  may  be  elected  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
five. 

The  term  of  service  in  the  town  municipal  coun- 
cils is  three  years  and  in  the  rural  communities,  two 
years.  The  council  elects  from  its  own  members  a 
mayor  and  two  assistant  mayors.  The  mayor  rep- 
resents the  community  in  its  relations  with  the  other 
public  departments  of  the  government.  In -the  city 
of  Sofia  the  municipal  council  numbers  thirty  mem- 
bers, all  elected  at  one  time.  The  council  controls 
the  water  system,  electric  lights,  electric  railways, 
public  health,  parks  and  recreation  centres,  public 
charities,  elementary  education,  baths,  and  markets. 

The  judiciary  power  of  Bulgaria  is  vested  in  law 
courts  and  magistrates  who  act  in  the  name  of  the 
king.  The  civil  and  penal  codes  of  the  country  are 
largely  based  on  Ottoman  law.  The  lowest  civil  and 
criminal  court  is  that  of  the  justice  of  the  peace. 
Such  courts  are  found  in  all  towns  of  any  conse- 
quence, and  in  Sofia  there  is  a  number  distributed 


How  Bulgaria  Is  G-overned  203 

between  the  various  quarters  of  the  capital.  The 
justice  of  the  peace  may  try  cases  involving  ci\nl 
and  commercial  disputes  up  to  two  hundred  dollars, 
and  criminal  cases  involving  infractions  and  misde- 
meanours entailing  an  imprisonment  up  to  six 
months  and  fines  not  exceeding  one  hundred  dollars. 

Departmental  tribunals,  or  courts  of  the  first  in- 
stance, are  found  in  the  chief  towns  of  the  different 
departments.  These  courts  have  large  powers;  they 
may  pass  sentence  of  death,  penal  servitude,  and 
deprivation  of  civil  rights.  In  specified  criminal 
cases  the  departmental  tribunals  are  assisted  by  a 
jury  of  three  persons  chosen  by  lot  from  a  panel  of 
forty-eight  citizens.  The  duty  of  serving  on  the 
jury  is  honorary  and  obligatory  on  all  Bulgarian 
subjects  with  a  secondary  education  who  know  the 
official  language  and  pay  at  least  one  hundred  dollars 
a  year  in  direct  taxes. 

The  verdict  of  the  jury,  when  unanimous,  is  final, 
the  only  recourse  being  to  the  court  of  appeal,  which 
examines  afresh  the  whole  affair  and  decides  the 
case  without  the  aid  of  a  jury.  The  decision  of  the 
court  of  appeal  is  final  unless  taken  to  the  supreme 
court  of  the  kingdom.  There  are  three  courts  of 
appeal  in  Bulgaria  —  at  Sofia,  Philippopolis,  and 
Rustchuk. 

The  supreme  court,  or  court  of  cassation,  has  its 
seat  at  Sofia.  It  has  the  power  to  reverse  the  judg- 
ments of  all  the  other  courts  of  the  land  on  points 
of  law  or  procedure.  It  is  comi)osed  of  a  president 
judge,  two  vice-president,  and  nine  other  judges. 

The  judiciary  is  open  to  all  Bulgarian  male  sub- 


204  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

jects  twenty-six  years  old,  who  have  completed  a 
full  legal  course  of  instruction,  know  the  official  lan- 
guage of  the  country,  and  have  practised  law  in  a 
departmental  court  for  at  least  six  months.  No 
judge  may  at  the  same  time  practise  law,  serve  as  a 
member  of  the  national  assembly,  or  pursue  such 
vocations  as  teaching,  trade,  or  editor  of  a  political 
newspaper.  Judges  in  Bulgaria  are  poorly  paid; 
and,  as  they  may  be  removed  by  the  government, 
changes  are  frequent  and  sometimes  for  inadequate 
causes. 

In  addition  to  the  law  courts,  there  are  in  the 
kingdom  certain  special  tribunals.  Matters  touching 
marriage,  divorce,  and  inheritance  are  under  the 
direction  of  the  Orthodox,  the  Mohammedan,  the 
Jewish,  and  other  religious  organizations.  There 
are  consular  courts  that  deal  with  all  civil  and  com- 
mercial disputes  arising  between  foreign  subjects 
and  not  involving  landed  property  in  Bulgaria.  Mil- 
itary courts  pass  upon  all  criminal  cases  involving 
persons  in  active  service  in  the  army. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  Bulgaria  officials  received 
their  political  education  in  the  two  worst  schools  of 
political  pedagogy  in  Europe  —  Turkey  and  Russia 
—  it  is  the  opinion  of  competent  foreign  critics  that 
the  country  has  been  better  governed  than  any  of 
the  other  Balkan  states.  Frequent  newspaper 
charges  of  graft  and  corruption  of  public  officials 
carry  little  weight  when  one  recalls  the  violence  of 
the  Sofia  press  and  its  rancorous  abuse  of  political 
opponents.  The  officials  who  administer  the  affairs 
of  state  have  sometimes  blundered  and  blundered 


How  Bulgaria  Is  Governed  205 

grievously;  but  when  one  recalls  the  difficulties 
which  they  have  had  to  face  during  the  brief  period 
of  national  existence,  the  marvel  is  that  they  have 
done  so  well  in  governmental  matters.  Mr.  AVilliara 
Miller,  an  English  writer,  w^ell  voices  the  sentiments 
of  the  author  in  the  statement:  "  With  all  their 
faults,  and  in  spite  of  all  their  trials  and  tempta- 
tions, the  peasant  statesmen  have  achieved  great 
triumphs  during  the  comparatively  brief  period  of 
their  country's  existence  as  a  practicall}^  independ- 
ent state."  ^ 

It  is  not  easy  for  a  foreigner  to  comprehend  the 
principles  upon  which  the  political  parties  are 
founded,  and  for  the  obvious  reason  that  most  of 
them  have  been  founded  upon  personalities.  One 
hears,  for  example,  much  more  often  of  the  G-ueshoff 
party,  the  Radosavoff  party  or  of  the  Zankoif  party 
than  of  the  national  party,  the  liberal  party,  or  the 
progressive  liberal  party.  During  the  first  years  of 
the  principality  there  w^ere  two  political  parties. 
This  division  took  place  at  the  first  constitutional 
convention  at  Tirnovo.  The  Dondukoff-Korsakoff 
project  of  a  constitution  for  the  Bulgarian  people 
gave  rise  to  warm  discussions  and  the  participants 
were  ranged  as  conser\'atives  and  liberals.  The 
conservatives  were  aristocrats  and  numerically  in 
the  minority.  They  followed  the  lead  of  Russia. 
Their  leaders  were  Marko  BalabanotT  and  BurmofF. 
The  motto  of  the  liberals  was  "  Bulgaria  for  the 
Bulgarians."  They  opposed  the  autocratic  rule  of 
Russia,  and  sought  to  give  expression  to  the  will  of 

^  The  Balkans.     By  William  MjJler.    New  York,  1907.  pp.  476. 


206  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

the  people.  Their  leadcrvS  were  Petko  Karaveloff 
and  Dragan  ZankofF,  and  later  the  great  statesman, 
Stefan  Stamboloff. 

In  Eastern  Rumelia  there  were  also  two  par- 
ties—  the  conservative  "  unionists  "  (Russophiles) 
and  the  radicals,  scornfully  called  by  their  oppo- 
nents kazionni,  or  treasure-hunters.  Both  parties 
in  Eastern  Rumelia  favoured  union  with  Bulgaria ; 
but  when  Russia,  after  Bogoridi's  removal,  turned 
against  the  union,  the  conservatives  became  anti- 
unionists.  The  radicals,  however,  under  Zachary 
Stoyanoff,  effected  at  Philippopolis  the  union  of 
the  two  Bulgarias.  After  the  union,  the  conserv- 
atives from  Eastern  Rumelia  joined  forces  with 
those  in  Bulgaria ;  and  as  a  result  of  the  combina- 
tion wo  have  to-day  what  is  known  as  the  nationalist 
(narodniak)  party  under  the  leadership  of  Ma- 
djaroff,  Velitchkoff,  Ivan  Vazoff,  the  Bobtcheffs, 
Todoroff,  and  Gueshoff.  The  nationalist  party  is 
mildly  clerical  and  strongly  Russophil. 

Following  the  alienation  of  Prince  Alexander 
from  Russia  in  1885,  Dragan  Zankoff,  hitherto  a 
leader  in  the  liberal  party,  turned  against  the  prince 
and  cast  his  lot  with  Russia.  This  was  the  ori- 
gin of  the  liberal  Russoj^hil  or  Zankovist  party, 
which  is  to-day  represented  by  Daneff  and  Luds^ 
kanoff  under  the  name  of  the  progressive  liberal 
party.  The  traitorous  conduct  of  Petko  Karaveloff 
during  the  coup  d'etat  of  1886  and  the  regency  that 
followed  caused  the  breach  with  Stamboloff  and  the 
formation  of  a  new  liberal  party  that  is  represented 
to-day  by  the  democratic  party  under  the  leadership 


How  Bulgaria  Is  Governed  207 

of  Malinoff  and  Takeff.  When  Dr.  Radoslavoff,  the 
present  prime  minister,  became  active  in  Bulgarian 
politics,  differences  between  the  other  liberal  lead- 
ers and  himself  caused  a  division  in  the  party 
into  liberals  (Radoslavists)  and  national  liberals 
(Stambolovists),  the  latter  now  led  by  Dr.  Ghuena- 
dieff.  Tontcheff  later  withdrew  from  the  Eados- 
lavist  party  and  established  the  young  liberal  party. 
Recently  the  more  radical  members  of  the  old 
Karavelist  (democratic)  party,  together  with  men 
from  other  parties,  have  formed  a  party  called  the 
radical  democratic.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  most 
of  the  political  parties  in  Bulgaria  are  the  result 
of  splits  in  the  liberal  party.  There  are  two  sec- 
tions of  the  socialist  party  in  Bulgaria  —  the  broad 
socialist  party  (shiroki),  led  by  Sakuzoff,  and  the 
strict  socialist  party  (tessni),  under  the  leadership 
of  Blagoeff.  The  most  recent  political  party  is  the 
agrarian,  organized  in  consequence  of  an  agitation 
among  the  peasant  farmers,  and  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Stamboliski  and  Dragieff. 


CHAPTER    XV 

RELIGION    AND    MONASTERIES 

The  national  Orthodox  church  of  Bulgaria  —  A  static  religion  — 
Dearth  of  intellectual  life  among  its  priest^s  —  Language  of  the  serv- 
ice —  Place  of  fasts  —  Nature  of  church  services  —  The  confes- 
Hional  —  Celibacy  required  only  of  monks  —  Religious  toleration 
in  Bulgaria  —  The  PomaLs  or  Bulgarian  Moslems  —  Monasticism 
—  The  famous  Rilo  monastery  —  Other  monasteries  —  The  Mo- 
hammedan church  in  Bulgaria  —  The  Greek  patriarchist  church  — 
Hebrews  —  Catholics  and  ITniatos  —  The  American  Protestant 
movement  in  Bulgaria  —  Its  educational  influence  —  \\Tiat  Prot- 
estantism has  done  for  the  country'. 

The  national  church  of  Bulgaria  is  the  Orthodox, 
sometimes  called  the  Greek  Orthodox,  because  Chris- 
tianity arose  in  the  east  and  Greek  was  the  language 
of  the  Scriptures  and  of  the  early  services  of  the 
church.  To-day,  however,  the  Orthodox  church  in- 
cludes nine  independent  branches,  one  of  the  less 
important  branches  being  the  Hellenic  church  of 
modern  Greece.  Eussia,  Servia,  Rumania,  Monte- 
negro, and  Bulgaria  all  have  independent  state  or- 
ganizations and  employ  the  old  Slavonic  as  the  lan- 
guage of  the  service. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  in  the  time  of  Constantine 
the  Christian  church  was  divided  into  dioceses,  over 
which  a  bishop  ruled  in  ecclesiastical  matters.  Later 
the  bishop  in  the  chief  city  of  a  diocese  rose  to  pre- 
eminence and  received  the  title  of  exarch.  In  time 
the  most  distinguished  exarchs  received  the  title  of 
patriarch.    AVhen  the  empire  was  divided  there  were 

208 


^-' 


Religion  and  Monasteries  209 

three  patriarchs :  one  at  Rome,  one  at  Antioch,  and 
one  at  Alexandria.  Constantinople  and  Jerusalem 
were  later  made  patriarchates  in  the  eastern  church. 
It  thus  happened  that  with  four  heads  the  Orthodox 
church  never  became  a  despotic  monarchy  governed 
from  one  centre.  It  beciime  what  it  is  to-day,  an 
oligarchy  of  patriarchs.  Each  patriarch  is  within 
his  own  diocese  what  the  pope  is  in  the  western 
church.  He  is  not  amenable  to  his  brother  patri- 
archs, but  like  them,  he  is  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
ecumenical  synods. 

"  The  attachment  of  the  Bulgarian  peasant  for  the 
national  Orthodox  church,"  remarks  Mr.  Henry  N. 
Brailsford,  the  most  competent  European  authority 
on  etlmic  problems  in  the  Balkan  peninsula,  *'  is  not 
so  much  due  to  the  religious  instincts  of  the  peasant 
as  to  his  political  conditions,  which  explain  his  pas- 
sionate attachment  to  his  church  and  the  great  part 
which  it  plays  in  his  existence.  His  fidelity  to  his 
church  has  been  through  five  centuries  one  contin- 
uous martyrdom.  He  has  remained  true  to  it  not 
merely  from  a  reasoned  or  traditional  faith  in  its 
tenets,  but  simply  because  apostasy  involved  a  fore- 
swearing of  his  nationality  and  a  treason  to  the 
cause  of  his  own  race."  ^ 

It  is  never  easy  for  a  foreigner  to  pass  judgment 
upon  the  worth  and  influence  of  an  alien  religion. 
One  may,  however,  as  Mr.  Brailsford  has  remarked 
concerning  the  Orthodox  church,  draw  some  reason- 
ably sure  inference  from  certain  glaring  and  quite 

'  Macedonia:  its  Rarcx  ami  Ihcir  Future.  By  Henry  Noel  Brails- 
ford.    London,  190G,  pp.  340. 


210  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

obvious  facts.  '*  Nothing  could  be  more  remark- 
able," he  says,  "  than  the  total  absence  of  heresy 
among  the  Christians  of  Turkey  and  the  Balkan 
states.  The  active  speculation  of  the  Greek  mind 
and  its  preoccupation  with  religion  produced  an 
endless  succession  of  more  or  less  interesting  here- 
sies during  the  Middle  Ages.  With  the  Turkish 
conquest  they  abruptly  ceased.  A  patriarch  who  had 
been  educated  in  Germany  played  a  little  with  Prot- 
estantism in  the  seventeenth  century.  I  believe  there 
is  no  other  instance  of  any  deviation  from  the  monot- 
onous path  of  official  orthodoxy.  There  has  been 
schism,  it  is  true,  but  always  on  political  and  never 
on  theological  grounds.  The  explanation  lies,  I  am 
afraid,  on  the  surface.  There  is  no  heresy  in  the 
eastern  church  because  there  is  no  interest  in  relig- 
ion. Turkish  rule  has  crushed  out  every  form  of 
intellectual  life,  and  in  the  feud  of  conqueror  and 
conquered,  Christianity  has  become  no  more  than 
a  sort  of  mental  uniform  in  which  one  party  has 
inarched  in  a  long  and  doubtful  defensive  warfare. 
The  conquest  did,  in  fact,  destroy  a  peculiarly  inter- 
esting heresy  which  flourished  under  the  name  of 
Bogomilism  among  the  Slavs  of  Macedonia  and  Bos- 
nia and  also  in  Albania.  It  seems  to  have  been  Uni- 
tarian in  its  theolog>%  Manichean  in  its  metaphysics, 
and  so  stubbornly  idealist,  so  certain  that  all  matter 
and  therefore  all  external  forms  are  evil,  that  it 
rejected  the  sacraments.  The  little  one  knows  of  it 
suggests  an  affinity  with  some  of  the  most  spiritual 
of  the  Russian  peasant  heresies.  But  the  modern 
Balkan  peasant  has  neither  the  leisure  nor  the  ease 


Religion  and  Monasteries  211 

of  mind  to  approach  religion  with  any  fresh  and 
original  insight.  And  here  the  Christianity  of  the 
eastern  church  compares  unfavourahly  with  Islam, 
which  proves  its  vitality  by  not  a  little  unorthodox 
speculation,  .  .  .  Indeed  the  Cross  in  the  east  has 
become  so  much  a  mere  symbol  of  warfare  that  it 
is  a  little  difTicult  to  define  Orthodox  Christianity 
in  any  but  negative  terms.  I  doubt  if  it  has  any 
important  bearing  on  conduct,  and  certainly  in  its 
traditions  there  is  no  longer  a  trace  of  that  human- 
itarian spirit  of  mercy  and  love  which  the  modern 
mind  tends  more  and  more  to  read  into  religion. 
The  Moslem  at  least  has  a  theory  that  he  may  atone 
for  many  sins  by  giving  bread  to  the  pariah  dogs 
of  the  streets.  There  is  no  such  sentiment  as  this 
among  the  Christians,  and  as  little  recognition  of 
any  duty  to  the  poor  and  the  sick." 

The  Orthodox  church  has  no  creed  in  the  sense 
in  which  the  word  is  used  in  Roman  Catholic  and 
Protestant  countries.  But  the  doctrines  of  the 
church  are  found  in  the  confessions  of  faith.  Old 
Slavonic  is  the  language  used  in  the  Orthodox 
churches  in  Bulgaria.  It  differs  from  the  modern 
Bulgarian  language  about  as  much  as  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  of  Chaucer  differs  from  modern  English. 

Fasts  in  the  Orthodox  church  are  frequent  and 
severe.  Besides  Wednesday  and  Friday,  which  are 
fast  days,  there  are  four  fasting  seasons  during  the 
year  —  Lent,  Pentecost  to  Saints  Peter  and  Paul, 
Feast  of  the  Sleep  of  Theotoxos  (the  1st  to  the  15th 
of  August),  and  the  six  weeks'  fast  preceding  Christ- 
mas.   Indulgences  are  not  recognized.    The  Virgin 


212  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

receives  homage,  but  the  dogma  of  her  immaculate 
conception  is  not  admitted. 

Apart  from  the  ikons  of  the  saints  and  the  cru- 
cifix, there  are  no  "  graven  images  "  in  the  Ortho- 
dox churches.  Singing  plays  an  important  part  in 
the  service,  but  there  is  no  instrumental  music. 
Prayers  are  offered  standing,  vpith  the  face  towards 
the  east.  At  Pentecost,  however,  the  worshippers 
kneel.  The  celebration  of  the  Eucharist  is  an  elab- 
orate symbolical  representation  of  the  Passion. 
Consecrated  bread  is  broken  into  the  wine  and  both 
elements  are  given  in  a  spoon. 

The  confessional,  which  is  still  nominally  an  in- 
stitution of  the  Orthodox  church,  is  rapidly  falling 
into  disuse.  Mr.  Brailsford  attributes  this  tendency 
to  **  the  ignorance  and  degradation  of  the  secular 
clergy.  To  go  for  ethical  guidance  to  the  average 
village  priest  would  indeed  be  too  ridiculous.  The 
married  priests  outside  the  larger  towns  are  for 
the  most  part  totally  uneducated,  and  lead  the  life 
of  peasants,  only  adding  the  fees  paid  by  their  flock 
for  marriages,  baptisms,  and  funerals  to  the  rev- 
enues of  their  fields.  They  can  read  enough  to  mum- 
ble through  the  ritual,  and  write  sufficiently  well 
to  keep  the  parish  registers;  but  there  their  superi- 
ority to  the  average  peasant  ends.  Preaching  is 
practically  unknown.  Their  function  is  not  that  of 
the  pastor  or  the  teacher.  They  are  simply  petty 
officials  who  perform  the  rites  appropriate  to  the 
crossing  of  the  frontier  between  this  world  and  the 
next.  They  bury  and  baptize  for  a  consideration, 
much  in  the  spirit  of  a  customs'  officer  who  takes 


Religion  and  Monasteries  213 

toll  on  the  border  of  him  who  enters  and  of  him  who 
leaves." 

The  clergy  of  the  Orthodox  church  are  divided 
into  priests  and  monks.  Priests  must  marry  but 
monts  are  required  to  remain  celibates.  Only 
monks  are  eligible  to  appointment  to  bishoprics  and 
the  highest  offices  in  the  church.  The  clergy  are 
paid  by  the  state;  they  also  receive  fees  for  mar- 
riages, burials,  etc.  The  compensation,  however, 
is  ridiculously  small.  Parish  priests  have  very  little 
education,  and  they  are  esteemed  with  indifference 
by  their  parishioners.  The  ignorance  of  the  clergy 
is  the  weak  spot  in  the  Orthodox  church.  Roman 
Catholic  priests  and  Protestant  pastors  in  Bulgaria 
are  distinctly  superior  to  the  Orthodox  clergy  in 
education,  intelligence,  and  moral  ideals. 

The  governing  body  of  the  Orthodox  church  of 
Bulgaria  is  the  Holy  Synod,  which  consists  of  four 
metropolitan  bishops  chosen  for  life  by  secret  bal- 
lot of  all  the  bishops.  Laymen  take  part  in  these 
elections  on  the  same  footing  as  members  of  the 
clergy.  The  Holy  Synod  is  presided  over  by  the 
exarch,  who  is  the  nominal  head  of  the  national 
church.  More  than  three-fourths  of  the  people  of 
Bulgaria  are  adherents  of  the  Orthodox  church. 

No  other  country  in  the  Balkan  peninsula  gives 
so  large  a  measure  of  religious  freedom  as  Bulgaria. 
The  Servian  goverament  prohibits  by  law  all  prose- 
lytizing. The  Greeks,  although  they  welcomed  the 
aid  of  Protestants  of  England  and  America  in  their 
war  of  liberation,  have  since  enacted  laws  which 
make  the  labours  of  Protestant  missionaries  and 


214  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

teachers  in  Hellas  quite  impossible.  Mr.  Ilerrick, 
an  American  missionary,  remarks  in  this  connec- 
tion: **  The  circulation  of  the  Bible  in  Greece  in 
the  language  of  the  country  is  forbidden,  and  in 
Servia  intolerance  of  missionary  work  is  even  more 
rigid  than  in  Greece. ' '  ^ 

Tlie  tolerance  in  Bulgaria,  however,  has  been  due 
to  enlightened  statesmanship  rather  than  to  any 
spirit  of  forbearance  on  the  part  of  the  clergy  of 
the  Orthodox  church.  It  may  well  be  doubted 
whether  the  priests  of  the  national  church  are  less 
bigoted  than  tlieir  unenlightened  confreres  in 
Greece,  Servia,  and  Rumania.  On  the  few  occasions 
when  the  Orthodox  clergy  of  Bulgaria  have  had 
the  chance  to  assert  authority,  it  has  not  been  in 
the  dit-ection  of  tolerance  towards  Moslems,  Roman 
Catholics,  and  Protestants.  Their  attitude  towards 
the  Pomaks  in  the  Rhodope  mountains  is  a  point  in 
question.  In  the  spring  of  1913,  after  the  Turks 
had  lost  this  region  in  the  Balkan  war,  Orthodox 
priests  visited  the  Pomak  villages  and  forcibly 
"  converted  "  the  inhabitants  to  the  religion  of  the 
national  church.  After  the  recent  war  among  the 
allies,  upon  the  strong  representation  of  the  Mos- 
lem inhabitaiits  of  Bulgaria  and  Turkey,  the  Bul- 
garian government  was  compelled  to  repudiate  the 
action  of  the  Orthodox  priests,  and  to  forbid  any 
further  attempts  by  force  to  reconvert  the  Pomaks 
to  the  faith  of  the  national  church. 

This  stupid  blunder  is  responsible  for  the  charge 

^  Peace  an  Ike  World  Givcth.  By  George  F.  Herrick.  Missionary 
Review  of  Ike  World,  June,  1913. 


Religion  and  Monasteries  215 

of  intolerance  against  the  Bulgarians.  Rather  it 
should  be  credited  to  the  clerical  Russophil  Gue- 
shoff-Daneff  ministries  and  to  certain  leading  ec- 
clesiastics in  the  Bulgarian  Orthodox  church.  Lib- 
eral-minded Bulgars  denounced  the  efforts  to  forci- 
bly reconvert  the  Pomaks  to  the  faith  of  the  national 
church  as  an  outrage  on  humanity  and  a  grave  po- 
litical error.  Witness  this  published  protest  from 
the  pen  of  Anton  Strashimiroff,  one  of  the  leading 
Bulgarian  men  of  letters:  "  Those  who  stand  for 
the  thought  and  the  honour  of  our  country  ought  to 
know  that  our  authorities  have,  in  the  countries  on 
the  frontier  inhabited  by  the  Pomaks  and  recently 
liberated,  acted  in  a  way  which  is  a  disgrace  to  their 
country  and  to  humanity.  One  aim  alone  was  kept 
in  sight  —  that  of  personal  enrichment.  Conversion 
was  only  a  pretext.  It  did  not  save  the  poor  Pomaks 
from  atrocious  treatment  except  where  the  priests 
with  whom  they  had  to  deal  were  conscientious  men. 
Such  cases,  however,  were  rare.  The  ecclesiastical 
mission  was  beneath  criticism.  High  rewards  were 
paid,  but  the  priests  sent  to  carry  out  thjs  task  in 
the  Pomak  villages  were  drunkards  and  criminals 
who  could  not  be  kept  in  Bulgaria.  The  behaviour 
of  the  police  was  monstrous.  In  Bulgaria  no  one 
has  and  no  one  can  have  any  idea  of  the  atrocities 
committed  by  prefects,  heads  of  police,  and  priests. 
The  device  of  the  Pomaks  now  runs  —  '  Let  any  one 
take  us,  only  not  the  '*  Pisse  hukiminfe  Bulgnr  " 
(the  dirty  Bulgarian  government).'  Yet  at  first 
these  Pomaks  showed  the  most  absolute  submission 
to  our  army.    In  the  last  two  decades  they  had  con- 


216  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

ceived  a  hatred  for  Turkism.  Tlieir  principal  griev- 
ance was  the  defective  condition  of  their  mountain 
roads  and  the  burden  of  annual  duties.  They  knew 
that  this  state  of  things  had  been  largely  remedied 
in  Bulgaria,  and  they  held  to  the  idea  that  the  Bul- 
garian government  would  at  least  give  them  roads. 
At  Dary-deri  a  Pomak,  an  officer  in  the  reserve  of 
the  Turkish  army,  came  before  the  authorities  and 
had  himself  baptized  because  he  was  fired  by  the 
idea  that  the  Bulgarians  brought  nothing  but  good 
with  them.  He  was  at  last  disillusioned,  and  he 
and  his  children  were  massacred  by  their  neigh- 
bours. 

"  Nevertheless  the  Bulgarian  government  is  not 
ignorant  as  to  the  steps  which  should  be  taken  to 
satisfy  the  population  of  the  annexed  region  and 
secure  their  gratitude.  It  has  itself  declared  in  a 
manifesto  addressed  *  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  newly 
liberated  region,  published  the  day  after  the  con- 
clusion of  the  treaty  with  Turkey,  September  29, 
1913.'  —  most  formal  orders  are  given  to  the  Bul- 
garian civil  and  military  authorities  to  display  the 
greatest  kindness  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  annexed 
territories,  to  respect  their-  faith  and  their  nation- 
ality, to  refrain  from  any  attack  on  their  personal 
liberty,  and  to  maintain  the  inviolability  of  their 
houses  and  their  property.  The  citizens  of  new  Bul- 
garia are  to  enjoy,  without  distinction  of  religion 
or  nationality,  the  same  rights  which  are  secured 
by  the  constitution  of  the  kingdom  to  all  its  citizens. 
Respect  for  religious  freedom  and  for  education  is 
enjoined,  and  also  respect  for  the  religious  beliefs 


BIRD  3-EYE    VIEW    OF    UILO    MONASTERY. 


COURT    OF    KILO    MONASTKRY. 


Religion  and  Monasteries  217 

and  usages,  the  mosques,  cemeteries,  and  other  holy 
places  of  all  citizens  alike." 

Monasticism  is  an  important  feature  of  the  relig- 
ion of  the  Orthodox  church.  There  are  seventy- 
eight  monasteries  for  men  and  forty  for  women  in 
Bulgaria.  Among  the  well  knowii  monastic  insti- 
tutions of  the  kingdom  are  St.  John  of  Rilo  in  the 
Rilo  mountains,  St.  Nicholas  near  Shipka  pass,  and 
Tseherepish  at  the  northern  end  of  the  Isker  gorge. 
The  monastery  of  St.  John  is  located  in  a  gloomy 
ravine  hetween  the  lofty  ridges  of  the  richly  forest- 
clad  Rilo  mountains.  Stupendous  rocky  summits 
surround  and  protect  the  monastery.  The  steep 
slopes  of  the  mountains  are  covered  with  a  prime- 
val forest,  and  a  foaming  torrent  dashes  through  the 
narrow  gorge  in  which  the  gi'eat  national  sanctuary 
is  situated. 

Rilo  monastery  is  to  the  Bulgars,  as  Professor 
Jiricek  has  well  remarked,  what  St.  Michael  in  Nor- 
mandy and  Grande  Chartreuse  in  Dauphiny  were 
so  long  to  the  French  —  the  central  point  and  focus 
of  not  only  the  national  religion,  but  also  of  the 
national  sentiment  and  aspiration.  The  monastery 
was  founded  by  St.  John  of  Rilo  (Ivan  Rilsky). 
He  was  born  in  876;  and  after  leading  a  holy  life 
in  trees  and  caves  for  many  years  he  selected  this 
wild  and  almost  inaccessible  spot  in  the  Rilo  moun- 
tains as  the  permanent  place  of  his  devotions.  His 
great  piety  brought  him  great  fame.  Tt  soon  became 
known  that  he  possessed  unusual  power  of  exor- 
cising demons  and  curing  bodily  maladies.  Pour 
times  a  year  devout  pilgrims  come  to  the  monastery, 


218  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

sometimes  as  many  as  fifteen  thousand,  to  commem- 
orate tlie  life  of  the  saint,  offer  thanksgivings,  and 
seek  fresh  blessings. 

Among  other  well-known  monasteries  in  Bulgaria 
are  the  monastery  of  the  Transfiguration,  overlook- 
ing the  narrow  valley  of  the  Yantra  river;  the  Po- 
ganovsk}^  monastery,  near  the  Servian  frontier,  at 
the  gateway  of  the  "wild  gorge  of  the  Jerma  river; 
and  the  monastery  of  the  Seven  Altars,  hidden  in 
the  heart  of  wooded  hills.  In  earlier  times  the  mon- 
asteries were  the  homes  of  the  Slavic  tongue  and 
preserved  some  of  the  remnants  of  the  old  literature 
from  complete  destruction  by  the  intolerant  Greeks. 
During  the  revolutionary  period  patriots  and  lead- 
ers met  at  the  monasteries  to  discuss  plans  and  form 
organizations.  To-day,  however,  they  exercise  very 
little  political  or  intellectual  influence  in  Bulgaria. 
Peasants  still  reverence  them  as  places  where  mira- 
cles are  worked,  and  where  diseased  souls  and  bod- 
ies may  be  made  healthy.  The  monks  for  the  most 
part  are  unlettered.  They  cultivate  their  vineyards, 
care  for  stock  and  flocks,  distil  spirits  from  fruits, 
and  say  perfunctory  prayers.  The  monasteries  own 
vast  tracts  of  land,  and  the  Bulgarian  government 
has  always  respected  their  property. 

The  Mohammedan  church  ranks  first  in  number 
of  communicants  among  the  non-conformist  relig- 
ious bodies  of  Bulgaria.  It  has  about  a  fifth  as 
many  adherents  as  the  national  Orthodox  church. 
The  Moslem  population  of  the  kingdom  is  organized 
into  religious  communities  which  are  administered 
by  muftis,  whose  duties  are  entirely  spiritual.    The 


Religion  and  Monasteries  219 

muftis  are  freely  chosen  by  the  followers  of  the 
Prophet,  and  are  confirmed  by  the  government. 
Like  the  clergy  of  other  denominations  in  Bulgaria 
they  are  paid  by  the  state.  There  are  thirty-six 
Mohammedan  churches  in  Bulgaria,  and  they  are 
administered  by  forty-two  muftis.  The  mufti  of 
Soiia  is  the  head  of  the  organization  in  the  coun- 
try. 

The  mufti  at  the  head  of  each  Mohammedan  com- 
munity is  assisted  by  one  or  more  secretaries  (whose 
salaries  are  paid  by  the  Bulgarian  government)  and 
an  administrative  council,  the  members  of  which  are 
chosen  by  the  Mohammedan  population  of  the  par- 
ish. The  mufti  deals  with  all  questions  touching 
divorce,  property  inheritance  of  his  parishioners, 
care  of  mosques  and  other  religious  establishments; 
he  also  deals  with  the  matter  of  taxes  on  all  landed 
properties  that  have  been  bequeathed  by  Moham- 
medans for  purposes  of  charity  and  for  the  needs 
of  the  Moslem  churches.  Most  of  the  Mohammedans 
of  Bulgaria  reside  in  the  northern  and  eastern  prov- 
inces of  the  country. 

The  Greek  church  of  Bulgaria  is  independent  of 
the  national  Orthodox  church.  It  is  under  the  di- 
rect supervision  of  the  patriai'ch  of  Constantinople. 
The  membership  of  the  Greek  church  is  about  sixty 
thousand.  The  religious  communities  are  organized 
in  the  same  way  as  the  communities  of  tlie  other 
faiths.  The  bishop  is  assisted  by  a  council  freely 
chosen  by  the  Greek  population  to  administer  the 
affairs  of  the  community  and  to  decide  on  matters 
touching  marriage,  divorce,  and  parochial  education. 


220  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

The  Greek  bishoprics  of  Bulgaria  are  at  Varna, 
Philippopolis,  Sozopol,  Anchialo,  and  Messemvria. 

There  are  about  thirty-eight  thousand  adherents 
of  the  Hebrew  faith  in  Bulgaria.  The  spiritual 
chief  of  the  Jews  is  the  grand  rabbi  of  Sofia.  He  is 
assisted  in  the  direction  of  affairs  touching  religion 
by  a  synagogical  committee.  There  are  similar 
committees  under  the  direction  of  rabbis  in  the 
towns  w^th  Jewish  congregations.  There  are  about 
fifteen  thousand  Gregorian  Armenians  in  Bulgaria, 
with  a  bishop  at  Rustchuk.  While  the  organization 
of  the  Armenian  church  is  in  a  comparatively  rudi- 
mentary state,  its  priests  receive  the  same  ecclesi- 
astical rights  and  aid  as  the  other  denominations  in 
the  country. 

The  Roman  Catholic  church  of  Bulgaria  numbers 
about  thirty  thousand  communicants,  who,  for  the 
most  part,  are  descended  from  the  Bogomiles,  an 
heretical  sect  that  endured  the  persecutions  of  the 
Orthodox  church  for  several  centuries.  A  writer 
4n  the  CatJwlic  Times  calls  attention  to  the  large 
liberties  enjoyed  by  Roman  Catholics  in  Bulgaria 
as  compared  with  those  in  Greece  and  in  other  states 
of  the  Balkans.  "  In  Greece,"  he  says,  ''  Catholics 
are  everywhere  detested  and  considered  rebels  and 
hostile  to  the  institutions  of  the  country.'* 

The  diocese  of  Nieopolis,  with  the  bishop's  resi- 
dence at  Rustchuk,  contains  about  thirteen  thousand 
Latin  Catholics,  divided  into  fourteen  parishes. 
There  are  parish  schools  for  both  boys  and  girls, 
as  well  as  religious  houses  of  the  Passionist,  Marist, 
and  Assumptionist  orders.     The  apostolic  vicar  of 


Religion  and  Monasteries  221 

Philippopolis  contains  about  fifteen  thousand  Latin 
Catholics  in  thirteen  parishes.  There  is  a  Catholic 
college  at  Philippopolis  under  the  order  of  the  As- 
sumptionists,  and  numerous  elementary  and  second- 
ary schools  under  the  direction  of  the  Brothers  of 
the  Christian  Schools  and  other  Catholic  teaching 
orders.  The  intellectual  status  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic priests  of  Bulgaria  is  distinctly  superior  to  that 
of  the  priests  of  the  Orthodox  church. 

An  interesting  ecclesiastical  development  in  the 
Balkan  peninsula  is  the  Catholic  Uniate  church.  It 
uses  the  language  and  liturgy  of  the  Orthodox 
church;  its  clergy  marry  and  wear  the  garb  of  the 
Orthodox  priests,  and  in  dogma  as  well  as  in  ritual, 
it  is  practically  indistinguishable  from  the  Orthodox 
faith.  But  it  recognizes  the  authority  of  the  church 
of  Rome.  There  are  about  thirteen  thousand  Cath- 
olic Uniates  in  Bulgaria,  chiefly  in  districts  that 
formerly  were  parts  of  Thrace  and  Macedonia. 
They  are  under  the  immediate  jurisdiction  of  two 
Bulgarian  bishops  appointed  by  the  Holy  See  at 
Rome. 

The  Protestant  movement  in  Bulgaria  is  entirely 
due  to  the  religious  and  educational  labours  of 
American  missionaries.  In  1857  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  of  the  United  States  took  as  the  field 
of  its  labours  that  part  of  Bulgaria  that  lies  between 
the  Danube  river  and  the  Balkan  mountains.  The 
work  was  carried  on  amid  difficulties  and  was  t>^ace 
practically  suspended ;  but  in  1905,  the  Reverend 
Elmer  E.  Count,  an  able  American  Methodist  clergy- 
man, was  sent  to  the  field  as  resident  superintendent 


222  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  churches  in  Bulgaria. 
Since  that  date  the  church  has  made  remarkable 
progress  and  has  to-day  congregations  at  Plevna, 
Sofia,  Eustchuk,  Varna,  Lom,  Lovetch,  Vidin,  Tir- 
novo,  Shumen,  Voyvodevo,  and  nine  other  towns  in 
the  kingdom.  The  Methodists  maintain  a  secondary 
school  for  Bulgarian  girls  at  Lovetch,  and  publish 
a  paper,  llie  Christian  World,  at  Sofia. 

The  Congregational  churches  of  the  United  States 
occupied  the  territory  between  the  Balkan  mountains 
and  the  ^gean  sea.  Their  first  missionaries  were 
sent  to  what  was  then  European  Turkey  in  1858. 
They  located  at  Adrianople.  During  the  next  dozen 
years  iVmerican  missionaries  were  sent  to  Stara  Za- 
gora,  Philippopolis,  Sofia,  and  Samokov.  The  Ban- 
sko  church  in  the  Razlog  district  was  organized  in 
1871.  This  has  become  one  of  the  chief  centres  of 
Protestantism  in  Bulgaria.  Bansko  is  the  birthplace 
of  the  Reverend  Marko  N.  Popoff,  who,  for  nineteen 
years,  administered  so  efliciently  the  large  Protes- 
tant church  at  Sofia,  the  "Reverent  D.  N.  Fornajiefif, 
the  present  pastor  of  the  Protestant  church  of  Sofia, 
and  other  leaders  of  the  Protestant  movement. 

The  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the 
Congregational  church  has  been  especially  active 
in  establishing  churches  and  preaching  stations  in 
Macedonia.  Beginning  with  1873,  stations  were  es- 
tablished at  Monastir,  Resen,  Prilep,  Veles,  Skopie, 
Radovish,  Doi'ran,  Drama,  Kuknsh,  and  at  many 
other  points  in  Macedonia. 

Besides  the  religious  work  of  the  missions,  many 
elementary  schools  were  organized  in  Macedonia 


Religion  and  Monasteries  223 

and  in  what  is  to-day  Bulgaria.  At  Samokov  in 
Bulgaria  there  have  been  maintained  for  more  than 
half  a  century  Bulgarian  secondary  schools  for  girls 
and  boys;  and  connected  with  the  latter  a  theolog- 
ical institute  for  the  training  of  clergymen  for  the 
work  of  pastors.  Through  the  agency  of  the  mis- 
sions the  Bible  was  translated  into  Bulgarian. 
More  than  six  hundred  hymns  and  sacred  songs 
have  been  translated  into  the  vernacular.  Zornitza, 
the  weekly  journal  published  in  Bulgarian  by  the 
Protestant  churches  of  the  kingdom,  is  the  oldest 
newspaper  published  in  Bulgaria. 

There  are  about  six  thousand  Protestants  in  Bul- 
garia, and  the  conspicuous  part  they  have  played  in 
the  public  life  of  the  nation  is  altogether  out  of  pro- 
portion to  their  numerical  strength.  "  If  the  Amer- 
ican missionaries  have  not  made  hirge  numbers  of 
converts  to  Protestantism,"  remarks  Mr.  Brails- 
ford,  *'  they  have  made  relatively  well-educated 
men,  who  found  the  stagnation  and  oppression  of 
the  Turkish  east  completely  unendurable.  Their 
colleges  and  secondary  schools  were  so  largely  fre- 
quented by  native  Christian  lads  that  the  eastern 
churches  were  compelled  in  self-defence  to  imitate 
them." 


CHAPTER    XVI 

EDUCATION    IN    BULGARIA 

Bulgarian  culture  effaced  during  the  supremacy  of  tht-  Greek  ^'li^.- 
nariotes  —  The  revival  of  learning  in  Bulgaria  —  Education  and 
the  literarj'  and  historical  renaissance  —  The  secondary  school  at 
Gabrovo  —  Opposition  of  the  Greek  eccleHiaatics  - — Views  of  the 
American  missionaries  —  Mission  schools  conducted  by  Americans 
—  The  national  school  system  —  How  elementary  schools  are  sup- 
ported —  Course  of  study  —  Education  of  girls  —  Normal  schools 
for  the  training  of  teachers  —  The  university  of  Sofia  —  Special 
and  technical  schools  —  Rapid  decrease  in  the  percentage  of  illit- 
eracy —  Libraries. 

During  the  dark  ages  of  Bulgarian  history,  the 
period  when  the  Bulgars  were  under  the  spiritual 
supremacy  of  the  Greek  church,  schools  in  the  ver- 
nacular never  entirely  disappeared.  The  bigoted 
Phanariotes  did  everything  in  their  power  to  com- 
pletely efface  the  native  culture ;  and  although  their 
work  at  times  seemed  to  have  completely  stamped 
out  the  old  Slavic  language,  here  and  there  the  stub- 
born villagers  maintained  at  their  own  expense  pri- 
mary schools  where  the  mother  tongue  was  the  me- 
dium of  instruction. 

With  the  destruction  of  the  Byzantine  empire  by 
the  Turks  and  the  assumption  of  temporal  sover- 
eignty of  Bulgaria  by  the  sultans,  spiritual  authority 
over  the  conquered  Slavs  was  vested  in  the  Greek 
patriarchate.  "  The  patriarchate,"  remarks  quite 
truly  Mr.  Brailsford,  "  was  sold  at  frequent  inter- 
vals and  at  a  steadily  rising  price  to  any  Greek 
adventurer  who  could  buy  his  nomination.    He  re- 

224 


Education  in  Bulgaria  225 

couped  himself  by  selling  the  consecration  of  bish- 
ops, and  they  in  turn,  regarding  this  outlay  as  a 
legitimate  investment  of  capital,  proceeded  to  farm 
their  dioceses.  Out  of  this  system  there  grew  up 
a  Greek  aristocracy  in  Constantinople,  grouped 
round  the  Phanar  — as  the  patriarch's  seat  was 
called.  The  lay  members  enjoyed  the  confidence  of 
the  Porte,  and  bought  offices  of  much  profit  and 
power. ' ' 

The  Phanariotes  exploited  the  church,  and  set  be- 
fore themselves  the  task  of  crushing  the  Slavs  of 
Bulgaria  with  the  authority  of  the  Ottoman  goveni- 
ment  behind  them.  They  extinguished  the  Bulga- 
rian patriarchate,  closed  the  higher  Bulgarian 
schools,  and  burned  the  books  in  the  Slavic  language. 
The  Greek  language,  both  as  a  literary  and  a  church 
language,  was  forced  on  the  Bulgars.  With  Greek 
churches,  Greek  priests,  and  Greek  cloister  schools 
in  their  midst,  it  was  impossible  for  the  Bulgars  to 
retain  the  spiritual  power  necessary  to  successfully 
resist  the  constant  pressure  of  foreign  supremacy, 
both  material  and  spiritual. 

Do-^Ti  to  the  opening  years  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury culture  in  Bulgaria  was  a  close  preserve  for 
the  Greeks.  A  few  monks  of  the  Slavic  race  pre- 
served by  discretion  and  dissimulation  the  mem- 
ories of  the  days  when  Bulgaria  was  the  most  im- 
portant kingdom  in  the  Balkan  peninsula.  These 
monks  were  the  real  foiM^'unners  of  the  Bulgarian 
renaissance  that  made  possible  ultimate  freedom 
from  the  intolerant  and  corrupt  patriarchate  and 
the  oppressive  and  tyrannical  sultans. 


226  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

As  related  in  a  pre\nL0us  historical  chapter,  it 
was  the  Monk  Pai'ssy  who  started  the  literary  re- 
vival that  was  to  bring  about  the  national  independ- 
ence. In  1762  he  published  his  History  of  the  Bul- 
garian People,  "  a  work  with  no  pretensions  to  sci- 
entific accuracy,  but  which  aroused  the  dormant 
patriotism  of  the  people  where  a  coldly  critical  and 
impartial  narrative  would  have  failed."  His  pupil, 
Stoiko  Vladislavoff  (1739-1815),  afterwards  Bishop 
Sophroni,  was  the  teacher  in  the  school  at  Kotel  that 
trained  most  of  the  leaders  in  the  movement  that  led 
to  the  reestablishment  of  the  national  Bulgarian 
church  and  tlic  rehabilitation  of  the  empire  of  the 
old  Bulgarian  tsars. 

In  the  spring  of  1834,  Vassil  Apriloff,  a  merchant 
at  Gabrovo,  visited  Constantinople  and  secured  from 
the  Turkish  government  permission  to  open  a  sec- 
ondary school  in  his  native  town,  in  which  the  lan- 
guage of  instruction  should  be  Bulgarian.  He  made 
appeals  to  his  compatriots  in  Russia  and  Rumania, 
and  received  pledges  of  several  hundred  dollars 
towards  the  support  of  the  school.  Neophyt  Rilsky, 
who  had  been  connected  with  the  monastic  institution 
at  Rilo  from  1816  to  1828,  was  secured  as  principal 
teacher.  He  spent  some  months  at  Bucharest  pre- 
paring text-books  and  plans  for  the  school.  He  com- 
posed a  Bulgarian  grammar;  translated  from  the 
Russian  an  arithmetic;  secured  copies  of  Boron's 
reading  book;  and  returning  to  Bulgaria,  opened 
a  school  at  Gabrovo  the  14th  of  January,  1835  — 
**  the  first  Bulga7-ian  secondary  school,"  observes 
a  historian,   "  and   one   that   was   destined   to   be- 


Education  in  Bulgaria  227 

come  the  nurseiy  of  the  new  Bulgarian  educa- 
tion." The  school  was  patterned  after  the  moni- 
torial system  of  Bell  and  Lancaster.  The  system 
was  both  cheap  and  (comparatively)  effective;  only 
bare  rooms  were  required ;  few  teachers  were  needed 
for  large  numbers  of  pupils;  and  the  cost  of  main- 
tenance was  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

The  school  at  Gabrovo  is  one  of  the  milestones  in 
the  history  of  Bulgarian  education.  AVithin  ten 
years  similar  schools  were  organized  at  Sofia,  Kotel, 
Eustchuk,  Stara  Zagora,  Plevna,  Kazanlik,  Pana- 
gurishte,  Shumen,  and  ten  other  to\vns  in  the  coun- 
try. The  Greek  priests  strongly  opposed  the  schools, 
but  their  opposition  served  rather  to  increase  the 
zeal  of  the  Bulgarians.  Young  men,  at  their  own 
expense,  or  aided  by  benevolent  persons,  went 
abroad  to  prepare  themselves  for  the  work  of  teach- 
ing. The  national  spirit  awakened  with  the  educa- 
tion of  the  people  and  the  struggle  for  religious 
emancipation  from  the  tyranny  of  the  corrupt  Pha- 
nariotes  began.  Tlie  Greeks  charged  the  Bulgars 
with  being  revolutionists  and  of  attempting  to  throw 
off  the  Ottoman  yoke.  Turkey,  as  a  result  of  the 
sinister  charges  of  the  Greeks,  imprisoned  many 
of  the  Bulgarian  teachers  and  sent  others  into  exile 
in  Asia  Minor. 

The  fate  of  the  Miladinoff  brothers  was  the  fate 
of  many  Bulgarian  schoolmasters  at  tliis  period. 
Dimiter  and  Constantine  Miladinoff  were  Bulgarian 
teachers,  and  the  former  was  an  ardent  folk-lorist. 
Through  the  generosity  of  the  bishop  of  Djakovo, 
they  were  able  to  publish  their  studies  in  Bulgarian. 


228  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

This  roused  the  indignation  of  the  Greek  metro- 
politan. Dimiter  was  denounced  to  the  Turkish 
officials  as  a  revolutionist;  he  was  arrested  and 
taken  to  Constantinople,  where  he  was  thrust  into 
prison.  His  brother  Constantine,  in  the  hope  that 
he  might  secure  his  release,  made  haste  to  follow 
his  brother;  "  but  no  sooner  had  he  reached  the 
Turkish  capital  than  he  too  was  cast  into  prison, 
and  one  fine  day  a  couple  of  corpses  were  thrown 
out  into  the  sunlight.  Joachim,  the  Greek  patriarch, 
whose  acquaintance  Dimiter  had  made  when  he  at- 
tended the  Greek  college  at  Janina,  being  anxious 
that  Heaven  should  not  grieve  for  the  lack  of  two 
righteous  souls,  managed  to  procure  for  them  the 
cup  of  Socrates.  They  sleep  in  an  unknown  grave, 
for  the  solitary  witness  of  their  burial,  a  fellow 
countryman,  was  the  next  day  compelled  to  die. 
The  brothers  Miladinoff  have  their  place  in  the  roll 
of  Bulgarian  martyrs."^ 

A^Hien  Dr.  Elias  Riggs,  an  American  missionary, 
made  a  tour  of  Bulgaria,  in  1859,  he  was  surprised 
to  find  so  many  Bulgarian  schools  that  had  sprung 
up  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  the  powerful  Greek 
church  and  the  hostility  of  the  Turkish  government. 
He  tells  of  a  visit  to  a  school  at  Sofia  attended  by 
four  hundred  boys  and  another  for  girls  with  an 
attendance  of  one  hundred  and  twenty.  ''  "V^Tien 
we  remember  that  we  are  in  Turkey,"  he  writes, 
"it  is  an  interesting  fact  to  notice  that  the  Bulga- 
rians do  not  limit  their  laudable  endeavours  for 
education  to  boys  alone.    This  is  a  striking  indica- 

*  Shade  of  the  Balkans.    By  Pencho  Slaveikoff,  et  al.    London,  1^4. 


Education  in  Bulgaria  229 

tion  that  they  are  training  themselves  to  give  the 
right  place  to  women  even  at  the  ver^^  beginning 
of  their  educational  system."  At  Stara  Zagora  he 
found  a  boys'  school  with  eight  hundred  pupils  and 
a  girls'  school  with  one  hundred  thirty-five;  and 
lie  remarks  that  there  are  several  schools  in  the 
neighbouring  villages.  He  pays  a  high  compliment 
to  the  Bulgarian  teachers.  He  found  them  "  men 
with  gentlemanly  manners,  making  great  self-sac- 
rifices, and  working  without  hope  of  financial  re- 
turns." 

Dr.  Byington,  another  American  missionary, 
writing  to  the  Missionary  Herald  from  Bulgaria  in 
1862,  says:  ''It  is  an  encouraging  fact  that  Bul- 
garian schools  are  found  not  only  in  the  cities,  but 
in  many  of  the  villages  that  I  have  visited,  so  that 
the  nation  in  a  short  time  will  be  able  to  rank  as 
a  nation  that  can  read  and  write.  The  more  intel- 
ligent Bulgarians  simply  make  an  idol  of  learning. 
T  have  heard  them  say  that  learning  is  the  one  thing 
of  which  they  have  need  and  that  it  will  transform 
life  and  purify  the  heart." 

The  schools  organized  by  the  American  mission- 
aries in  Bulgaria  have  also  played  an  important 
role  in  the  educational  history  of  the  country.  In 
1860  a  collegiate  and  theological  institute  was 
opened  at  Philippopolis  by  the  American  Board 
(Congregational)  of  Foreign  Missions.  Ten  years 
later  the  school  was  removed  to  Samokov.  Up  to 
June,  1910,  when  the  school  celebrated  its  fiftieth 
anniversary,  eight  hundred  young  men  had  been 
enrolled  as  students.    Most  of  the  pastors  connected 


230  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

with  the  Protestant  missions  in  Bulgaria  and  Mace- 
donia received  their  training,  in  whole  or  in  part, 
at  the  Samokov  school;  and  manj^  of  the  former 
students  occupy  responsible  positions  in  both  the 
public  and  private  life  of  the  nation. 

The  high  school  for  girls  at  Samokov,  organized 
by  the  American  Board  in  1863,  has  also  rendered 
admirable  service  in  the  promotion  of  the  higher 
education  of  Bulgarian  women.  The  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  of  the  United  States  has  main- 
tained an  excellent  high  school  for  girls  at  Lovetch 
for  many  years.  The  very  great  influence  of  Robert 
College  and  the  American  College  in  Turkey  on  the 
development  of  education  in  Bulgaria  will  be  dis- 
cussed at  length  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

The  constitution  of  1878  recognized  primary  edu- 
cation as  an  essential  factor  of  the  state,  but  it  made 
no  provision  for  the  support  of  schools.  The  law 
of  1881  left  the  matter  of  primary  instruction  en- 
tirely in  the  hands  of  the  individual  communities, 
only  in  the  case  of  very  poor  communes  was  the 
state  authorized  to  aid  in  the  maintenance  of  schools. 
When  Ferdinand  came  to  the  throne  the  keen  inter- 
est which  he  took  in  the  matter  of  public  education 
resulted  in  considerable  augmentation  in  the  matter 
of  state  expenditures  for  schools. 

It  was  not  until  the  organic  law  of  1891  was 
passed,  however,  that  the  state  acquired  supreme 
control  of  the  schools  of  Bulgaria.  Since  that  date, 
the  growth  of  the  national  system  of  public  schools 
has  been  remarkable.  There  is  a  ministry  of  public 
instruction   in   the   king's   cabinet   that   has   entire 


Education  in  Bulgaria  231 

control  of  the  educational  affairs  of  the  country. 
Associated  with  the  minister  of  public  instruction 
are  two  directors  —  one  of  primary  education  and 
one  of  iSecondary  education.  There  is  also  a  corps 
of  general  inspectors  who  are  the  representatives 
of  the  ministry  in  their  respective  departments. 

There  are  departmental  councils  of  education, 
which  exercise  advisory  and  judicial  functions ;  also 
local  school  committees  that  have  direct  charge  of 
the  schools,  select  the  sites  for  buildings,  and  nom- 
inate the  teachers,  who  must,  however,  be  approved 
by  the  minister  of  public  instruction.  Women,  pro- 
vided they  have  completed  a  course  in  a  secondary 
school,  are  eligible  to  membership  on  the  local  com- 
mittees. 

Two-thirds  of  the  funds  required  for  the  support 
of  the  schools  are  supplied  by  the  national  govern- 
ment, and  the  other  one-third  by  the  local  communi- 
ties. Qualifications  of  teachers,  courses  of  study, 
and  school  inspection  are  entirely  in  the  hands  of 
the  state.  The  compulsory  school  period  is  from 
the  ages  of  eight  years  to  twelve.  In  country  dis- 
tricts the  school  is  in  session  six  months  and  in  the 
towns  ten  months.  Many  of  the  elementary  schools 
are  coeducational,  and  nearly  two-thirds  of  the 
teachers  in  these  schools  are  men. 

The  studios  in  the  elementary  schools  include 
religion  and  morals,  the  mother  tongue,  arithmetic 
and  geometry,  geography,  history,  nature  study, 
drawing,  singing,  and  g}^mnastics.  Religion  gets 
two  periods  a  week  throughout  the  four  years  of  the 
compulsory  period.     During  the   first  and   second 


232  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

school  years  the  children  learn  prayers  and  church 
ceremonies,  and  have  stories  concerning  the  life  of 
Jesus  and  the  saints ;  the  Old  Testament  forms  the 
basis  of  instruction  in  the  third  school  year  and  the 
New  Testament  the  fourth  year.  Families  are  en- 
tirely relieved  of  the  religious  education  of  their 
children. 

There  are  higher  elementary  schools  that  continue 
the  studies  of  the  primary  schools  with  the  addition 
of  French,  old  Slavic,  phj^sics,  chemistry,  and  nat- 
ural history.  These  schools  supplement  the  educa- 
tion of  those  pupils  who  cannot  take  a  complete  sec- 
ondary course. 

The  course  of  study  in  the  secondary  schools  of 
Bulgaria  covers  five  years.  It  is  generally  divided 
into  three  sections  —  modern  language  course,  half 
classical  course,  and  classical  course.  The  differ- 
ence in  the  courses  is  largely  a  matter  of  the  number 
of  foreign  languages  studied.  In  the  modern  course, 
for  instance,  French  or  German  and  Russian  are 
studied;  Latin  is  added  to  the  half  classical  course, 
and  Greek  to  the  classical  course.  The  Bulgars, 
however,  are  a  very  practical  people,  and  they  do 
not  esteem  highly  the  classical  languages.  Most  of 
the  students,  therefore,  in  the  secondary  schools  are 
found  in  the  modern  course.  There  are  in  Bulgaria 
seventeen  secondary  schools  for  boys  and  ten  for 
girls. 

The  education  of  girls  in  Bulgaria  is  still  behind 
that  of  boys;  but  it  is  far  in  advance  of  the  edu- 
cation of  girls  in  the  other  Balkan  states.  During 
the  period  of  Turkish  rule,  such  education  as  was 


Education  in  Bulgaria  233 

available  to  girls  was  obtained  at  the  convents,  no- 
tably at  Kalofer  and  Samokov.  Constantine  Fo- 
tinoff  (1780-1858),  founder  of  the  first  Bulgarian 
newspaper,  was  an  ardent  advocate  of  the  education 
of  women.  The  first  public  schools  for  girls  were 
opened  at  Stara  Zagora  in'  1852  and  at  Gabrovo  in 
1862.  Recently  the  Bulgarian  government  has  given 
special  attention  to  the  subject,  and  there  are  now 
ten  secondary  schools  for  girls  in  the  country  with 
an  attendance  of  3,200. 

Normal  schools  have  been  established  for  the 
training  of  teachers.  There  are  four  such  schools 
for  women  and  five  for  men.  The  course  of  instruc- 
tion in  the  normal  school  covers  four  years  and  in- 
cludes religion,  Bulgarian  language  and  literature, 
pedagogy  and  psychology,  geography  and  history, 
mathematics,  French  or  German,  Russian,  physiol- 
ogy and  hygiene,  natural  history,  agriculture,  man- 
ual training,  drawing,  and  singing.  The  remunera- 
tion of  teachers  in  Bulgaria  is  still  very  low.  In 
the  Turkish  days  the  teachers  in  the  village  {kylien) 
schools  got  from  $40  to  $60  a  year;  in  1887  the 
average  annual  salary  was  only  $120;  to-day  it 
ranges  from  $250  to  $400  a  year.  There  has  been 
marked  improveiuent  in  the  qualifications  of  ele- 
mentary teachers  and  the  quality  of  the  instruction. 

The  university  of  Sofia  represents  the  higher 
educational  interests  of  the  country.  It  was  organ- 
ized with  a  faculty  of  philology  and  history  in 
1888;  faculties  in  matliematics  and  physical  science 
were  added  in  1889,  and  the  faculty  of  law  in  1902. 
Medical  students  receive  their  education  in  the  uni- 


234  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

versities  of  foreign  countries,  and  theological  stu- 
dents are  provided  for  in  denominational  semi- 
naries. Nearly  sixteen  hundred  students  are  en- 
rolled each  year  in  the  university  of  Sofia,  about 
half  of  whom  are  in  the  law  faculty.  About  a  fifth 
of  the  students  are  women. 

The  university  has  some  excellently  equipped  lab- 
oratories, but  it  does  not  have  suitable  permanent 
quarters.  Many  years  ago  a  Bulgarian  patriot  left 
two  and  one-third  million  dollars  for  the  erection  of 
university  buildings.  The  money  was,  however,  to 
draw  interest  for  a  definite  period  before  it  was 
available  for  the  erection  of  buildings.  The  fund 
has  drawn  more  than  $120,000  a  year  interest  for 
fifteen  years  and  is  now  available.  In  the  near  fu- 
ture Bulgaria  will  have  at  Sofia  a  fine  new  home  for 
its  highest  institution  of  learning. 

Among  the  special  educational  institutions  of  the 
country  may  be  named  the  excellent  art  and  indus- 
trial schools  at  Sofia.  The  art  academy,  organized 
by  Professor  Ivan  Mirkvicka,  has  departments  of 
painting,  sculpture,  and  ceramics.  It  has  an  able 
corps  of  instructors  and  has  already  trained  a  num- 
ber of  men  who  are  making  their  mark  as  creative 
artists.  There  is  also  a  conservatory  of  music  at 
the  capital,  which  up  to  1910  was  a  private  insti- 
tution with  a  grant  from  the  state ;  but  since  that 
date  it  has  been  taken  over  by  the  government  as 
a  national  institution. 

An  institute  of  technology  has  recently  been 
opened  at  Sofia;  agricultural  and  horticultural 
schools  have  been  organized  at  Sadovo  and  Plevna ; 


SECONDARY    scilool,    AT    lU'sTriniK. 


AGRICULTURAL    SCHOOL    AT    PLEVNA. 


Education  in  Bulgaria  235 

and  there  is  an  excellent  military  academy  at  Sofia. 
Hitherto  Bulgarian  students  in  very  large  numbers 
have  attended  the  universities,  institutes  of  tech- 
nology, and  art  schools  of  Germany,  Russia,  Swit- 
zerland, France,  and  Belgium.  With  the  organiza- 
tion of  special  schools  and  the  extension  of  facilities 
for  advanced  study  at  home,  this  number  is  already 
diminishing. 

The  expenditure  for  educational  purposes  during 
the  year  1912  reached  five  million  dollars.  Bulgaria 
far  exceeds  the  other  Balkan  states  in  the  matter 
of  national  and  municipal  expenditures  for  the  edu- 
cation of  children.  The  amount  spent  for  educa- 
tional purposes  in  1912  averaged  $1.20  per  inhabit- 
ant. For  Servia  during  the  same  period  it  was  sixty 
cents  per  inhabitant;  Greece,  fifty  cents;  Monte- 
negro, forty  cents,  and  Turkey,  twenty  cents. 

The  most  remarkable  achievement  in  the  history 
of  Bulgarian  education  is  the  rapidity  with  which 
the  percentage  of  illiteracy  has  been  reduced.  In 
1887  the  percentage  of  illiteracy  in  the  kingdom  was 
89,  and  in  1905  it  was  72.  These  figures,  however, 
include  more  than  six  hundred  thousand  Moslem 
Turks,  Tatars,  and  gypsies,  among  whom  the  per- 
centage of  illiteracy  is  97.  These  people  are  in 
Bulgaria  what  the  Indians  and  negroes  are  in  the 
United  States.  The  government  has  made  heroic 
efforts  to  educate  them,  but  with  very  indifferent 
success. 

In  order  to  measure  the  efiiciency  of  the  Bulgarian 
school  system  in  terms  of  literacy,  we  must  exclude 
the  Moslem  population  and  all  Bulgars  over  thirty- 


236  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

five  years  of  age,  since  the  country  was  not  liberated 
until  1878,  and  the  people  beyond  this  age  had  no 
opportunity  under  the  Turkish  rule  to  learn  to  read 
and  write.  With  these  exclusions,  the  percentage 
of  illiteracy  for  the  year  1905  is  33  for  both  sexes, 
22  per  cent,  for  men  and  43  per  cent,  for  women. 

The  military  statistics  of  the  country  probably 
give  the  best  index  of  the  decrease  in  illiteracy.  In 
1878,  when  the  army  was  organized,  90  per  cent,  of 
the  recruits  were  illiterate;  in  1888  the  percentage 
of  illiteracy  was  70  per  cent. ;  *  in  1910  it  was  10 
per  cent.,-  and  in  1913,  only  5  per  cent.^  When  these 
figures  are  compared  with  the  statistics  of  the  older 
Balkan  states,  the  result  is  even  more  striking.  In 
Greece  30  per  cent,  of  the  army  recruits  are  illit- 
erate, and  in  Rumania  41  per  cent.  (Statesman's 
Year-Booh  for  1913.)  The  statistics  for  the  army 
recruits  of  Servia  are  not  available;  but  of  the 
entire  Servian  population,  83  per  cent,  are  illiterate. 
It  should  be  noted  in  this  connection  that  Bulgaria 
has  a  Moslem  Turk  and  gypsy  population  of  over 
600,000;  Servia,  14,000;  Rumania,  40,000,  and 
Greece  practically  none.  Greece  and  Servia  have 
been  liberated  from  Ottoman  rule  more  than  four 
score  years;  Rumania  more  than  half  a  century, 
and  Bulgaria  only  thirty-six  years. 

There  are  national  libraries  at  Sofia  and  Philip- 
popolis,  a  university  library  at  Sofia,  and  municipal 


'  Das  Bulgarische  BUdungswesen.  Von  W.  Nikoltschoff.  Leipzig, 
1910. 

^  Dictionnaire  de.  PMagogie.    Par.  F.  Buis.son.    Paris,  1911. 

^  Bulgaria's  Defence.  By  M.  Momtchilofl.  New  York  Times  An- 
nalist, January  12,  1914. 


Education  in  Bulgaria  237 

libraries  at  Varna,  Rustchuk,  Shumen,  and  several 
other  places.  The  national  library  at  Sofia  contains 
about  fifty  thousand  volumes,  and  the  one  at  Philip- 
popolis  about  thirty-six  thousand.  Both  arc  open 
to  the  public.  Bulgaria,  however,  is  much  in  need 
of  public  libraries,  liberally  administered,  and  made 
readily  accessible  to  all  the  people.  The  Bulgars 
are  serious-minded ;  and  with  the  great  increase  of 
literacy  among  the  peasants,  libraries  might  be 
made  a  very  valuable  feature  of  the  national  edu- 
cational system.  Reading-rooms  are  found  in  many 
towns,  but  they  contain  little  besides  newspapers; 
and,  as  is  elsewhere  remarked,  the  Bulgarian  news- 
papers have  very  slight  literary  value. 


CHAPTER    XVII 

BULGARIAN    FOLK  -  SONG    AND    MUSIC 

Rich  folk-poetry  of  the  country  —  How  these  songa  originated  — 
EarHest  efforts  to  collect  the  folk-songs  of  Bulgaria  and  Macedonia 
— ■  Opposition  of  the  Greek  ecclesiastics  —  Song  of  Liuben  the  hai- 
duk  —  Resemblance  of  the  measures  to  Longfellow's  Hiawatha  — 
Ivan  PopolT  and  the  Fairy  —  Marko,  the  legendary  hero  —  Mental 
traits  of  the  lyrics  —  Relation  of  the  folk-songs  to  national  dances  — 
The  horo  —  Musical  instruments  used  —  Art  music  of  Bulgaria  — 
Works  of  modern  composers  —  Musical  societies. 

After  the  conquest  of  the  Balkan  peninsula  by  the 
Turks,  many  of  the  Bulgars  took  to  the  mountains 
and  left  the  plains  to  be  occupied  by  the  conquerors 
and  such  of  their  kinsmen  as  had  embraced  the  faith 
of  Islam.  It  was  among  the  mountain  people  that 
the  national  traditions,  language,  and  customs  were 
preserved ;  and  it  was  here  that  the  rich  literature 
of  folk-song  had  its  birth. 

Pencho  Slaveikoff,  the  foremost  poet  of  Bulgaria, 
has  given  this  account  of  the  circumstances  of  the 
birth  and  development  of  the  folk-poetry  of  his  coun- 
try:  *'  Those  things  which  were  dear  to  the  hearts  of 
the  people  were  preserved  among  such  of  the  Bul- 
gars as  had  taken  to  the  mountains.  Their  lives  were 
spent  in  the  narrow  circle  of  the  family,  conducted 
after  the  somnolent  patriarchal  fashion,  so  that  they 
concerned  themselves  almost  exclusively  with  the 
politics  of  a  domestic  world,  as  is  faithfully  and  fas- 
cinatingly depicted  for  us  in  their  songs.  In  that 
simple  life  of  theirs  it  is  not  often  that  an  event 

238 


Bulgarian  Folk-Song  and  Music        239 

occurs  which  is  beyond  the  dull  round  of  every  day; 
there  can,  indeed,  be  nothing  but  what  is  coloured 
by  their  condition  of  servitude.  The  solitary  gleams 
of  light  are  the  undying  memories  of  the  days  of 
freedom  —  tales  and  dark  legends  of  a  time  that  has 
faded  into  hearsay,  legends  and  tales  that  have  long 
been  meaningless,  but  are  still  remembered  by  the 
people  because  of  the  poetry  that  is  in  them. 

"  The  Bulgar  did  not  look  merely  into  himself; 
he  went  with  open  eyes  and  ears  to  make  acquaint- 
ance with  surrounding  nature,  felt  that  she  was 
united  organically  with  himself,  and,  being  some- 
what heathenishly  inclined,  he  gave  to  her  a  cata- 
logue of  manners  that  were  strange,  original,  and 
full  of  a  marvellous  poetry.  He  celebrated  her  as 
the  sister  of  his  grief  and  happiness,  while  in  a  sim- 
ilar way  he  listened  to  the  mournful  rustling  of  the 
woods  around  him,  and  of  that  everlasting  sadness 
made  the  sadness  of  his  songs. 

'*  These,  in  truth,  are  always  with  him  through 
the  changes  of  life,  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave. 
If  he  plows  or  if  he  sows  or  gathers  in  the  harvest, 
there  is  no  helpmate  like  a  song;  it  is  the  royal  com- 
rade of  his  journey;  when  he  lies  on  the  bed  of  sick- 
ness it  consoles  him.  The  song  usually  lives  in  the 
voice  of  the  singer;  although  at  times  one  meets 
with  the  strange  trio  of  \nolin,  clarinet,  and  drum, 
while  banquets  and  dances  are  made  delightful  with 
flute  and  fiddle  and  bagpipe.  Only  two  of  these  in- 
struments, the  bagpipe  and  the  flute,  accompany  the 
Bulgar  at  his  work  —  when  he  guards  his  flocks  in 
the  pastures  and  when  he  traverses  the  bleak  and 


240  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

lonely  plain,  plodding  on  behind  his  caravan.  Of 
these  instruments,  it  is  the  flute  which  he  loves  the 
best,  for  it  will  sing  to  him  more  truly  than  all  of 
them  what  the  melodies  contain  of  softness  and  of 
oriental  sorrow."  ^ 

One  of  the  earliest  attempts  to  collect  and  pre- 
serve the  folk-songs  of  Bulgaria  was  made  by  the 
Miladinoff  brothers  —  Dimiter  and  Constantine. 
They  published  a  volume  of  six  hundred  songs  at 
Agram  in  1861. ^  Constantine  tells  us  in  the  intro- 
duction that  the  printed  volume  represents  scarcely 
a  tithe  of  the  material  collected.  From  one  young 
girl  he  got  one  hundred  fifty  beautiful  songs.  The 
authors  found  Bulgarians  who  could  neither  read 
nor  write  but  who  could  recite  from  memory  hun- 
dreds of  folk-songs,  ballads,  and  proverbs. 

The  melancholy  fate  of  the  authors  of  this  volume 
has  been  referred  to  elsewhere  in  this  work.  Be- 
cause they  had  the  temerity  to  publish  their  book 
in  the  Bulgarian  alphabet  rather  than  the  Greek, 
they  were  accused  of  treason  by  the  Greek  authori- 
ties and  thrown  into  Turkish  prisons.  Upon  the 
representations  of  the  Austrian  and  Russian  consuls 
that  the  men  had  been  falsely  accused,  the  Ottoman 
government  ordered  their  release.  But  when  the 
order  sanctioning  their  liberation  reached  Constan- 
tinople, both  the  brothers  were  dead.  They  had 
been  killed  by  the  intriguing  Greek  ecclesiastics. 
Constantine  was  under  thirty  and  Dimiter  a  few 

»  The  Shade  of  (he  Balkans.  By  Pencho  Slaveikoff,  et  al.  London, 
1904,  pp.  328. 

2  Bulgarski  Narodni  Pessni  (Bulgarian  National  Songa).  By  Dimi- 
ter and  Constantine  Miladinoff.    Agram,  1861,  pp.  542. 


Bulgarian  Folk-Song  and  Music        241 


years  older.  Such  was  the  miserable  fate  of  two 
really  fine  Bulgarian  scholars  and  patriots.  Hellen- 
ism forced  them  to  drink  the  cup  of  Socrates  for 
no  other  reason  than  the  laudable  purpose  of  pre- 
serving the  folk-literature  of  their  people.* 

Stefan  K.  Verkovitch,  a  clergyman  from  Bosnia, 
was  another  early  student  of  Bulgarian  folk-songs. 
His  labours  were  largely  confined  to  the  Bulgarian 
peasants  in  Macedonia.  His  book  was  published  in 
Servian,  but  a  Bulgarian-Servian  vocabulary  was 
added.  He  relates  that  a  woman  in  Macedonia  re- 
cited to  him  two  hundred  seventy  folk-songs,  show- 
ing how  many  of  the  old  songs  were  orally  preserved 
by  the  people  in  a  country  where  books  did  not  exist. 
His  collection  contains  some  of  the  finest  specimens 
of  the  Bulgarian  folk-poetry.  Verkovitch  subse- 
quently tarnished  his  fame  by  the  fabrication  of  the 
Veda  Slovena. 

Among  other  early  collections  of  Bulgarian  folk- 
songs M^ere  those  by  Cholakoff  ^  and  Dozon.'  A  few 
of  the  poems  in  Cholakoff's  collection  had  already 
appeared;  but  Dozon's  collection,  published  at  Paris 
in  1875,  was  entirely  new.  Another  ardent  worker 
in  this  field  was  Petko  R.  Slaveikoff,  who  made  a 
collection  of  17,441  proverbs,  which  contain  "  the 
most  certain  record  of  the  independence  of  the  soul 
of  the  people  and  of  the  philosophy  which  they  cul- 
tivated.   In  these  proverbs  there  is  mirrored  more 

*■  For  an  excellent  account  of  the  life  and  labours  of  the  Miladinoff 
brothers,  see  Casopis  Ccsktho  Musea  (Bohemian  Literary  Journal) 
for  1866. 

^  Bulgarski  Narodni  Sbornik  (Bulgarian  National  Miscellany).  Bel- 
grade, 1873. 

'  ChansoTis  populaires  Bulgares.     By  August  Dozon.     Paris,  1876. 


242  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

clearly  than  elsewhere  that  extreme  individualism 
which  so  sharply  differentiates  the  Bulgar  from  his 
neighbours." 

Many  of  the  Bulgarian  folk-songs  refer  to  the 
haiduks,  brigands  of  the  Kobin  Hood  sort,  whose 
exploits  were  idealized  by  the  common  people.  Some 
of  these  songs,  as  Dozon  has  remarked,  take  a  really 
high  note  and  show  something  more  than  the  coarse 
materialism  of  a  life  of  thieving.  The  following  is 
a  literal  translation  of  the  haiduk  Liuben: 

"  Liuben,  the  younp;  hero,  cried  out 
Of  the  summit  of  the  old  mountain. 
Liuben  bade  adieu  to  the  forest, 
To  the  forest  and  mountain  he  spoke: 
'  Oh,  wood!  oh,  green  wood, 
And  oh,  cool  spring, 

Dost  thou  know,  forest,  and  dost  thou  remember 
How  often  I  have  wandered  over  thee, 
Have  led  my  younp;  heroes. 
Have  carried  my  red  standards? 
I  have  made  many  mothers  weep, 
Deprived  many  brides  of  their  homes. 
Even  more  have  I  made  of  little  orphans. 
So  that  they  weep,  forest,  they  curse  me. 
Farewell,  forest,  farewell. 
For  I  shall  go  homo. 
So  that  my  mother  may  betroth  me 
To  the  daughter  of  the  priest, 
The  priest  Nicholas.' 
The  forest  never  spake  to  any  one. 
And  yet  it  spake  to  Liuben : 
'  Liuben,  thou  hero,  Liuben! 
Enough  hast  thou  wandered  over  me, 
Led  thy  chosen  youth 
And  carried  thy  red  standard 
On  the  mountain,  on  the  old  mountain, 
By  the  cool  thick  shade  of  the  trees, 


Bulgarian  Folk-Song  and  Music         243 

By  the  dew>'  green  grass. 

Thou  hast,  made  many  mothers  weep, 

Thou  hast  deprived  many  brides  of  their  homes, 

Thou  hast  left  many  little  children  orphans, 

So  that  they  weep,  Liuben,  they  curse 

Me,  voivode,  on  thy  account. 

Till  this  time,  Liuhcn, 

The  old  mountain  was  thy  mother. 

The  green  forest  was  thy  bride, 

The  grass  gave  thee  a  bed. 

The  leaves  of  tlie  forest  covered  thee, 

The  clear  brooklet  gave  thee  drink, 

The  forest  birds  sang  to  thee; 

For  thee,  Liuben,  they  spoke. 

Rejoice,  yoimg  hero,  with  thy  comrades, 

For  the  mountain  is  glad 

And  bidd'st  thee  adieu  to  the  mountain. 

For  thou  dost  desire  to  go  home 

That  thy  mother  may  betroth  tliee, 

May  betroth  thee  and  marry  thee 

To  the  daughter  of  the  priest, 

Of  the  priest  Nicholas.'  " 

This  is  one  of  the  many  really  fine  ballads  in  the 
rieh  Bulgarian  folk  literature.  Surely,  as  an  English 
writer  remarks,  ''never  were  the  sympathies  be- 
tween nature  and  man  more  beautifully  expressed 
than  in  this  delightful  song,  which  has  all  the  fresh- 
ness of  its  native  woods  and  mountains  upon  it.  If 
we  could  only  do  away  with  the  savage  accessories, 
the  cruel  stories  about  widows  and  oi*phans,  it  might 
be  taken  as  one  of  Wordsworth's  pantheistic  pic- 
tures. Something  of  the  spirit  of  '  The  Excursion  ' 
is  in  it  and  of  that  exquisite  sonnet  of  sonnets,  '  The 
Brook  ';  and  even  more  forcibly  it  reminds  us  of 
some  of  the  fine  lines  of  Emerson." 

Many  of  the  selections  in  the  collection  by  the 


244  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Miladinoff  brothers  resemble  strikingly  the  style 
and  composition  of  Longfellow's  Hiawatha.  There 
is  the  same  measure,  the  absence  of  rhyme,  the  repe- 
tition of  words  from  the  close  of  one  line  to  the  be- 
ginning of  the  next,  and  the  repetition  of  entire  lines 
in  a  question  and  its  answer.  The  following  lines 
from  the  Bulgarian  folk-ballad  Ivan  Popo/f  and  the 
Fairy  suggests  this  resemblance: 


'  Out  he  started,  Ivan  Popoff, 
To  go  off  on  Easter  Sunday, 
Easter  Sunday  to  his  plowing; 
He  had  gotten  only  half  way 
When  there  issued  out  a  fairy, 
A  wild  fairy  of  the  mountains, 
And  she  stopped  the  path  before  him. 
'  Turn  you,  tm-n  you,  Ivan  Popoff, 
Don't  go  forth  on  Easter  Sunday, 
Easter  Sunday  to  your  plowing.' 
Ivan  handsomely  made  answer: 
'  Get  away,  be  gone,  you  fairy. 
Or  I'll  down  from  off  my  courser. 
By  your  flaxen  hair  I'll  catch  you, 
And  I'll  tie  you  to  my  courser, 
To  the  tail  of  my  swift  courser. 
And  ril  drag  you  like  a  harrow.' 
Then  the  fairy  she  was  angry, 
And  her  flaxen  hair  she  loosened, 
And  she  tripped  up  his  swift  courser, 
Longing  his  black  eyes  to  swallow. 
Then  was  angry  Ivan  Popoff, 
And  he  caught  the  wily  fairy. 
By  her  flaxen  hair  he  caught  her, 
And  he  tied  her  to  his  courser, 
To  the  tail  of  his  swift  courser, 
And  he  dragged  her  like  a  harrow, 
Swiftly  to  his  home  he  dragged  her. 
From  afar  he  called  his  mother : 


Bulgarian  Folk-Song  and  Music         245 

'  Oh,  come  out,  my  dearest  mother. 

For  a  bride  to  you  I'm  bringing, 

For  a  bride  I  bring  a  fairy, 

To  reheve  you,  dearest  mother, 

Wash  the  linen  of  my  father, 

Comb  the  hair  of  little  brother, 

Plait  the  tresses  of  my  sister.' 

Then  he  locked  up  her  right  pinion, 

Locked  her  in  a  coloured  casket. 

For  three  years  his  bride  lived  with  him, 

And  a  little  son  she  bore  him. 

Then  they  called  a  worthy  sponsor 

And  the  little  son  they  christened. 

Said  the  sponsor  to  the  fairy : 

'  Fairy  bride,  now  dance  a  little, 

Let  us  see  a  fairy  dancer.' 

Thus  replied  to  her  the  fairy : 

*  Let  but  Ivan  Popoff  give  me, 
Let  him  give  me  my  right  pinion, 
Then  I'll  dance  for  you  with  pleasure.' 

*  Ah,  but  fairy  bride,  we  doubt  you.' 
'  If  you  doubt  me,  Ivan  Popoff, 

If  you  fear  that  I'll  escape  you, 
Then  the  door  securcl}'  fasten. 
Fasten,  too,  the  gate  securely, 
Then  I'll  dance  for  you  with  pleasure.' 
So  the  door  secure  they  fastened. 
Fastened,  too,  the  gate  securely. 
But  as  she  began  her  dancing 
Quickly  she  flew  up  the  chimney." 

The  chief  legendary  hero  in  Bulgarian  folk-song 
is  Marko,  an  adventurer  to  whom  nature  gave  great 
intellectual  and  physical  powers,  as  well  as  frailties 
of  character.  He  was,  as  Pencho  Slaveikoff  has  well 
said,  a  national  god  created  by  the  people  in  their 
own  image.  His  castle  was  supposed  to  be  near 
Prilep,  but  his  activities  were  shrouded  in  mystery. 
He  was  always  accompanied  in  his  exploits  by  his 


246  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

faithful  horse  Sharko,  "  blue-grey  with  dark  spots." 
He  is  usually  represented  in  the  songs  as  the  cham- 
pion of  the  oppressed  Christians  against  the  Turks. 
The  follo^ving  song  which  tells  of  the  death  of  Marko 
is  taken  from  Slaveikoff's  collection:^ 

"  There  in  the  castle  at  the  lofty  battlement, 
With  his  friend  of  friends  sat  the  king's  son  Marko, 
With  his  friend  of  friends,  Philip  the  Hungarian, 
And  the  wnfe  of  Marlto,  the  fair  young  wife  attended  them, 
Filling  their  cups  with  the  noble  wine. 
Then  it  was  they  gazed  o'er  the  plain  of  Prilep, 
And  unto  Marko  spoke  Philip  the  Himgarian: 

'  Knowest  thou  what  has  befallen  in  the  world? 
Never  dost  thou  sally  forth  beyond  the  threshold, 
As  if  the  world  had  nought  save  the  beauty  of  thy  wife. 
And  what  befalls,  of  that  thou  knowest  nothing. 
There  is  invented  a  death  machine 
And  inside  it  there  is  a  little  ball. 
Out  it  flies  and  strikes  a  man,  and  out  flies  his  soul.' 
Then  laughed  Marko  at  the  word  of  Philip, 
Marko  laughed  and  his  wife  was  smihng, 
And  these  were  the  words  of  the  great-hearted  hero : 
'  Widely,  forsooth,  my  friend,  hast  thou  travelled, 
Too  well  thou  knowest  what  happens  in  the  world, 
Yet  have  I  fears  for  thy  understanding. 
How  can  a  ball  kill  a  noble  hero?  ' 
Philip  the  Hungarian  raised  his  voice  and  shouted, 
Shouted  with  his  voice  o'er  Prilep's  plain: 
'  Shepherd,  come  hither,  leave  the  sheep  grazing, 
Young  shepherd,  come  hither  with  your  little  gun.'' 
Then  Marko  laughed  till  the  castle  quivered: 

'  Now  we  shall  see,  now  we  shall  be  instructed.' 
When  the  shepherd  came,  Marko  seized  his  gun. 
Throwing  it  about  as  if  it  were  a  feather. 
'  And  that  you  say  can  "send  a  hero  into  darkness? 
Take  your  foolish  gun,  there  is  my  hand  for  you. 

'  Shade  of  the  Balkans.    By  Pencho  Slaveikoff,  cl  al.     London,  1904, 
pp.  328. 


Bulgarian  Folk-Song  and  Music        247 

Let  the  ball  fly  forth  and  I  will  catch  it.' 
The  ball  flew  forth  and  bored  through  Marko's  hand. 
Then  he  grew  pale,  the  old  great-hearted  hero, 
Sitting  there  in  silence  with  his  arms  upon  the  table, 
And  at  nightfall  he  went  forth  but  returned  no  more. 

"  There  is  a  story  told  by  the  people 
That  Marko  hides  between  the  lofty  mountains, 
Near  to  the  chasm  of  Demir-Kapia, 
Where  the  river  Vardar  winds  like  a  serpent. 
There  in  a  cave  he  lies  hidden. 
There  the  hero  slumbers  through  the  ages. 
In  the  earth  before  it  he  has  plunged  his  lance 
And  against  the  lance  his  horse  is  fastened 
Ever  ready  for  the  gallant  Marko 
When  he  rides  again  in  pursuit  of  exploits. 
Beyond  the  chasm  winds  a  mountain  path. 
When  the  people  go  there  they  turn  round  and  shout: 
'  Do  you  live,  do  you  still  Hve,  father  Marko?  ' 
And  it  is  to  them  as  though  they  heard  this  answer: 
'  He  lives,  he  still  lives,  the  people's  father  Marko.'  "' 


Many  of  the  lyrical  pieces  treat  of  human  affec- 
tions with  considerable  evidence  of  tenderness  and 
not  without  elegance.  Some  of  the  songs  relate  to 
the  Samovilas,  mysterious  beings  who  play  an  im- 
portant role  in  Slavic  mythology.  The  Samovilas 
of  the  Bulgarian  folk-song  are  the  sisters  of  heroes 
whom  they  are  always  prepared  to  help  in  times  of 
need.  They  are  beautiful  maidens,  with  fair  hair 
and  blue  eyes,  and  they  wear  white  silken  robes  that 
are  so  long  that  their  feet  are  not  visible.  Their 
habitat  is  in  the  deep  forest  or  on  the  shores  of 
mountain  lakes. 

In  the  ballad  of  the  fair  Strana  and  Samovila, 
Strana  is   represented   as   a   beautiful   young  girl 


248  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

dressing  for  the  church  service  on  the  morning  of 
Easter  Sunday.  Her  mother  warns  her  not  to  go 
to  church  before  other  people  have  arrived  for  fear 
that  the  young  priest  might  make  love  to  her.  She 
is  offended  by  the  caution  of  her  mother  and  goes 
to  the  garden  to  pout.  There  she  meets  a  Samovila, 
who  tears  out  her  beautiful  black  eyes  with  the  re- 
mark: 

"  This  is  the  way,  fair  Strana, 
For  thee  to  go  to  the  Easter  festival, 
The  Easter  festival,  the  lucky  day." 

One  of  the  lays  in  Slaveikoff's  collection  tells  how 
a  Samovila  built  her  castle  "  not  in  the  sky,  nor  in 
the  heaven,  nor  upon  the  hanging  sky,  but  in  the 
dark  clouds."  The  materials  used  in  its  construc- 
tion were  not  stones  and  timbers,  but  brave  warriors 
and  fair  maidens.  For  the  foundation  stones  she 
took  "  only  warriors  newly  married  "  and  for  mor- 
tar **  maidens  with  a  face  of  whiteness." 

Dragons  and  serpents  also  figure  in  the  Bulgarian 
folk-songs.  Dragons  fall  in  love  with  peasant  girls 
and  carry  them  off  to  the  clouds.  Birds  likewise 
play  an  important  role,  and  notably  the  falcon 
(sokol),  which  is  regarded  by  the  Bulgarians  as 
the  bird  of  heroes.  One  ballad  tells  of  the  trans- 
formation of  a  young  wife  into  a  swallow.  After 
a  severe  punishment  administered  by  her  mother- 
in-law,  she  prayed  that  she  might  be  transformed 
into  a  bird.  The  next  day  the  old  woman  attempted 
to  punish  her  with  a  pair  of  scissors,  and  instantly 
she  was  changed  to  a  swallow  and  flew  up  the  chim- 


Bulgarian  Folk-Song  and  Music        249 

ney,  but  the  scissors  struck  ber  before  her  escape, 
as  may  be  seen  by  the  shape  of  the  tail  of  the 
swallow. 

Many  of  these  songs  are  sung  in  connection  with 
the  horo  or  national  dance.  An  unlimited  number 
of  persons  can  participate  in  the  horo.  Each  dancer 
places  her  hand  either  in  that  of  her  neighbour  or 
upon  the  latter 's  shoulder.  A  step  is  taken  sideways 
to  the  left  and  then  three  steps  to  the  right.  As 
the  dancers  move,  they  assume  the  form  of  a  serpent, 
which  coils  and  uncoils.  There  are  several  forms 
of  the  horo.  The  form  most  generally  found  is 
danced  slowly,  the  music  moving  in  two-quarter 
measure.  Another  form  calls  for  great  agility  of 
leg  movements.  It  is  in  quick  tempo  in  the  three- 
eighth  measure.  A  third  form  moves  in  two  meas- 
ures and  is  not  unlike  the  tempo  of  the  gallop.  The 
vocal  music  that  goes  with  the  horo  is  composed  in 
plain  motives  without  any  variations  or  modula- 
tions, and  the  tunes  in  minor  chords  are  expressive 
of  the  cries  of  an  oppressed  people. 

The  native  musical  instruments  include  the  gaida, 
the  gadulka,  and  the  kaval.  The  gaVda  is  not  unlik(> 
the  Scotch  bagpipe.  The  gadulka  is  the  Bulgarian 
violin.  It  is  onion-shaped  and  strung  with  three 
horizontal  strings.  The  fiddler  plays  the  melody 
on  one  of  the  strings  and  the  other  two  sound  as 
a  double  cadenza.  The  gadulka  reposes  not  under- 
neath the  chin  of  the  performer  but  on  his  chest. 
The  kaval  is  the  national  flute  and  is  much  used  by 
shepherds.  It  is  made  of  a  hollow  piece  of  wood 
twelve  or  fifteen  inches  long  and  consists  of  three 


250  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

parts,  of  which  the  middle  part  has  six  holes  and 
the  other  two  parts  one  hole  each. 

The  songs  sometimes  have  a  religious  character, 
or  they  tell  of  the  exploits  of  saints  with  monsters 
who  inhabit  the  pools  and  tlie  mountains.  Most  of 
the  songs  are  in  minor  chords  and  express  forcibly 
the  wretched  captivity  in  which  the  country  so  long 
groaned.  Slaveikoff  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that 
among  the  thousands  of  Bulgarian  folk-songs  there 
exist  only  five  or  six  in  which  the  motif  is  con- 
sciously humourous. 

With  the  inexhaustible  treasures  of  folk-songs, 
the  tone  artists  of  Bulgaria  have  a  wealth  of  orig- 
inal motives  upon  which  to  build  a  fine  art  music. 
Little  has  been  done  in  this  field.  Dobrey  Kristoff 
(born  at  Varna  the  14th  of  December,  1875)  is  the 
composer  of  several  musical  works  based  upon  folk- 
songs. His  Songs  of  the  Balkans  is  said  to  be  a 
work  of  considerable  promise  and  he  is  the  composer 
of  a  music  drama  based  on  the  first  Balkan  war  that 
has  been  cordially  received.  Dimiter  Hadji-Georgi- 
eff  is  the  author  of  several  notable  operas  and  can- 
tatas, as  well  as  meritorious  orchestral  composi- 
tions. George  Atanasoff  has  an  opera  based  on  one 
of  the  dramas  of  Ivan  Vazoff,  as  well  as  several 
operettas  dealing  with  fairy  stories.  Petko  Naumoff 
has  composed  for  the  violin  and  the  piano  and  is 
the  author  of  a  rhapsody  that  has  been  well  received 
in  Germany  and  other  musical  countries.  Panyot 
Pipoff  has  composed  a  number  of  child  operas  and 
other  compositions. 

The  Bulgarian  National  Theatre  at  Sofia  produces 


Bulgarian  Folk- Song  and  Music        251 

the  music  dramas  of  native  composers,  as  well  as 
tlie  operas  by  Bohemians,  Bussians,  and  other  for- 
eign tone  artists.  There  is  a  good  orchestra  at  Sofia 
and  a  national  school  of  music  has  recently  been 
organized  at  the  capital.  The  Rodna  Pessen  is  the 
leading  musical  society  at  Sofia.  It  gives  symphonic, 
choral,  and  chamber  music  concerts  and  aims  to  pop- 
ularize art  music.  There  are  flourishing  music  soci- 
eties at  Philippopolis  and  in  several  other  large 
towns  in  the  kingdom. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

MODERN    BULGARIAN    LITERATURE 

1'he  literary  revival  and  the  movement  for  political  liberty  —  Chriato 
Boteff  —  Liuben  Karaveloff  —  Zachary  Stoyanoff  —  Petko  R.  Sla- 
voikoff.  the  founder  of  modern  Bulgarian  literature  —  His  political 
and  educational  activities  —  Collections  of  folk-songs  —  Transla- 
tion of  the  Bible  —  Ivan  Vazoff,  poet,  dramatist,  and  novelist  — 
Early  life  ami  training  —  Connection  with  the  revolutionary  move- 
inent  —  Early  verses  —  Under  the  Yoke  —  Other  romances  — 
Dramas  —  Vlaikoff  —  Stoyau  Michailovsky,  satirist  —  Aloko^  Con- 
Btantmoff,  humourist  —  Success  of  Bai  Ganio  —  Pencho  Slave!- 
koff ,  the  foremost  Bulgarian  writer  —  Pen-picture  of  the  poet  — 
His  art  work  —  Lyrical  compositions  —  Mis  great  epic  —  Petko 
Todoroff,  poet  and  dramatist  —  Author  of  the  finest  Bulgarian 
proge  —  VelitchkofT  —  Minor  poets — Political  and  philosophical 
writers. 

Attention  has  been  called  in  previous  chapters 
to  the  tenacity  with  which  the  Bulgars  retained  for 
centuries  feelings  of  nationality  in  the  face  of  the 
double  yoke  they  were  forced  to  bear  —  the  political 
yoke  imposed  upon  them  by  the  Turks  and  the  ec- 
clesiastical and  educational  yoke  imposed  by  the 
Greek  church.  The  modern  literature  of  Bulgaria 
had  its  birth  in  the  Cidturlmw.pf  that  raged  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century  about  the  reestablishment  of 
the  national  church.  The  patriots  who  were  the 
leaders  of  the  movement  against  the  corrupt  Pha- 
nariot  bishops  in  the  struggle  for  the  revival  of  the 
national  church  were  the  founders  of  the  new  school 
of  Bulgarian  letters. 

The  movement  for  ecclesiastical  emancipation  had 
nationalistic  aims,  and  it  ultimately  led  to  the  organ- 

252 


Modem  Bulgarian  Literature  253 

ization  in  Kumania  of  revolutionary  bands  of  Bul- 
garian emigrants  who  advocated  complete  emanci- 
pation and  independence.  The  dormant  patriotism 
of  the  nation  was  aroused  by  the  lyrics,  ballads, 
pamphlets,  collections  of  folk-songs,  and  romances 
of  Christo  Boteff,  Liuben  Karaveloff,  Zachary  Stoy- 
anoff,  and  Petko  E.  Slaveikoff.  Professor  Alfred 
Jensen,  the  Swedish  literary  critic,  remarks  that, 
"  while  the  liberators  of  the  Serbs  were  nothing 
but  warriors,  the  Bulgarian  liberators  were  both 
warriors  and  poets;  and  they  aroused  their  country- 
men from  their  letharg}^  bj^  their  patriotic  songs 
quite  as  much  as  by  their  patriotic  acts." 

The  influence  of  Christo  Boteff  (1847-1876)  on  the 
younger  writers  of  Bulgaria  was  veiy  great  indeed ; 
and  this  influence  has  been  considerable  on  the  later 
verse-writers  of  the  country.  There  was  artistic 
intensity  in  his  lyrics  and  ballads.  *'  Of  all  the  poets 
of  the  ])ast,"  writes  Pencho  Slaveikoff,  Bulgaria's 
greatest  poet,  *'  Boteff  is  the  dearest  to  us;  he  comes 
nearest  to  our  souls,  because  ho  never  separated 
poetry  from  the  life  and  feeling  of  the  people." 

Professor  Kadoslav  A.  Tsanoff  characterizes  Bo- 
teff as  the  Bulgarian  Marlowe.  "  A  torrential  soul 
who  perished  at  Marlowe's  own  age  at  the  head  of 
a  band  of  patriotic  desperadoes,  who  flung  reason 
to  the  winds,  and  crossed  the  Danube  to  shatter  tlie 
Ottoman  empire."  Again  lie  remarks:  ''Boteff 
was  a  poet  of  Marlowe's  intensity,  if  not  of  the 
hitter's  sweep  of  imagination  —  a  genius  that  miglit 
have  done  wonders  lind  he  lived,  judging  from  the 
handful  of  lyrics  he  left  behind  him." 


254  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Boteff  with  less  than  three  hundred  followers  fell 
in  the  battle  near  Vratza  in  1876.  His  head,  remark- 
able for  its  beauty,  was  displayed  by  the  Turks  on 
a  pole  as  a  warning  to  insurgent  Bulgarians.  Hadji 
Dimiter,  a  revolutionary  leader,  had  been  slain  not 
long  before  and  his  army  shattered.  Boteff' s  best 
poem  is  entitled  The  Death  of  Hadji  Dimiter.  It 
is  full  of  fine  poetic  feeling  and  choice  imagery. 
In  this  poem,  as  the  English  translator  remarks, 
Boteff  unconsciously  foreshadowed  his  own  death, 
so  similar  in  all  respects  to  that  of  the  hero  he 
brooded  over  with  such  intense  affection.  An  Eng- 
lish version  of  the  poem  by  Lucy  C.  Ball  will  be 
found  in  the  World's  Best  Literature.^ 

Liuben  Karaveloff  (1837-1879)  was  poet,  novel- 
ist, journalist,  and  statesman.  He  played  an  im- 
portant role  in  the  movement  that  culminated  in 
the  emancipation  of  the  Bulgarian  church  and  na- 
tion. For  Karaveloff  literature  was  chiefly  a  means 
of  arousing  the  national  consciousness  of  his  coun- 
trymen ;  nevertheless,  some  of  his  character  sketches 
—  and  notably  his  sketches  dealing  with  Greek 
treachery  and  depravity  and  the  descriptions  of 
the  peasant  customs  in  his  native  village  of  Ko- 
privshtitza  ■ —  will  long  occupy  an  important  place 
in  the  short  story  literature  of  Bulgaria.  His  work 
as  a  journalist  and  editor  was  also  important  in 
connection  with  Liberty,  Independence,  Knowledge, 
and  Banner.  Some  of  these  publications  he  edited 
in  collaboration  with  Christo  Boteff. 

»  World's  Best  Literature.  Edited  by  Charles  Dudley  Warner.  Vol. 
24.    New  York,  1897. 


Modern  Bulgarian  Literature  255 

Zachary  Stoyanoff  (1850-1889)  was  another  mem- 
ber of  the  revolutionary  band  that  precipitated  the 
insurrections  that  were  the  prelude  to  the  libera- 
tion of  the  Bulgars  from  the  rule  of  the  Turks.  His 
Autobiography ,^  an  excellent  English  version  of 
which  has  lately  appeared,  gives  perhaps  the  best 
account  of  the  spirit  of  emulation  and  enthusiasm  of 
the  activities  of  the  central  revolutionary  commit- 
tee at  Bucharest  and  the  sub-committees  in  Bul- 
garia. 

Stoyanoff,  in  his  Autohiography,  describes  his 
early  life  at  Kotel,  and  gives  an  account  of  his 
peasant  home,  of  his  first  occupation  as  a  shepherd, 
and  of  his  ardent  desire  for  an  education.  He 
joined  the  revolutionary  movement  at  Rustchuk; 
took  part  in  the  revolts  of  1875  and  1876;  was 
captured  by  the  Turks,  but  escaped  condemnation. 
After  the  emancipation  he  was  associated  with 
Stefan  Stamboloff  as  the  editor  of  Svohoda  (Lib- 
erty). He  held  several  official  posts,  one  of  which 
was  that  of  president  of  the  national  assembly.  Be- 
sides the  Autobiography,  he  was  the  author  of  nu- 
merous works,  most  of  which  deal  with  the  insur- 
rectionary period.  Mr.  Potter,  his  English  trans- 
lator, says  of  his  literary  work:  '\His  remarkable 
command  of  language  and  his  great  facility  in  de- 
scribing humourously  the  events  which  he  had  wit- 
nessed lend  to  all  his  writings  a  peculiar  cliarm." 

The  real  founder  of  modern  Bulgarian  literature, 
however,  was  Petko  R.  Slaveikoff  (1827-1895).     He 

1  Pages  from  the  Aulobioyraphy  of  o  Bulgarian  hisurgent.  By  Zach- 
ary Stoyanoff.    Translated  by  M.  W.  Potter.    London",  1913,  pp.  316. 


256  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

was  the  son  of  an  illiterate  but  musical  copper- 
smith; and,  after  a  brief  course  in  the  Turkish  and 
Bulgarian  schools,  he  was  apprenticed  to  his  fa- 
ther's trade.  It  was  subsequently  decided  that  he 
should  prepare  for  the  priesthood,  and  with  this  in 
view  he  studied  for  a  time  in  a  Greek  school.  He 
engaged  instead  in  teaching  and  laboured  for  many 
years  in  different  Bulgarian  villages  and  towns. 
This  was  the  period  when  the  Bulgars  were  attempt- 
ing to  restore  tlieir  ancient  language  by  the  organ- 
ization of  national  elementary  schools.  The  work 
of  Slaveikoff  brought  him  into  active  opposition 
with  the  Greeks,  then  the  spiritual  rulers  of  Bul- 
garia. 

Slaveikoff  was  active  in  the  movement  that  se- 
cured the  emancipation  of  the  Bulgarian  Orthodox 
church  from  the  domination  of  the  Greek  Phanari- 
otes;  he  participated  in  the  revolutions  that  ulti- 
mately freed  his  country  from  Turkish  rule;  he 
fought  in  the  Turko-Russian  war  of  1877-78,  and 
the  Servian  war  of  1885;  he  was  active  in  political 
life;  served  for  a  number  of  years  as  a  member  of 
the  national  assembly;  and  was  twice  a  member  of 
the  cabinet  —  once  as  minister  of  public  instruction 
and  once  as  minister  of  the  interior. 

His  son  Pencho  Slaveikoff,  the  leading  man  of 
letters  in  Bulgaria,  writes  of  his  father:  "  His  life, 
the  life  of  a  man  of  the  Bulgarian  renaissance,  is 
of  itself  a  legend.  I  need  only  mention  that  in  the 
course  of  his  variegated  career  he  was  relentlessly 
pursued  by  Turks  and  Greeks,  was  arrested  by  them 
some  thirty  times,  and  more  than  once  b}^  the  gov- 


Modern  Bulgarian  Literature  257 

ernment  of  his  liberated  fatherland.  But  iK^ver  did 
his  lucky  star  desert  him ;  once  indeed  it  saved  his 
life  when  he  was  standing  with  his  hands  manacled 
upon  the  scaffold.  His  exploits  and  his  services  for 
the  national  awakening  made  him  th(^  most  popuhir 
personage  in  Bulgaria,  so  that  tlie  people  conferred 
upon  him  the  title  of  '  Grandfather,'  which  the 
Bulgars  are  accustomed  to  bestow  upon  the  men 
whom  they  most  deeply  reverence.  It  is  not  easy 
to  measure  the  debt  whicli  literary  Bulgaria  owes 
to  him,  especially  with  regard  to  the  language,  the 
present  literary  language  —  seeing  that  he  is  to  all 
intents  its  creator.  ]n  spite  of  the  close  personal 
attention  which  he  gave  to  his  profession  and  to 
the  political  movements  of  the  day,  there  was  ap- 
parently^ no  lack  of  time  for  a  great  mass  of  literary 
work,  which  included  the  collection  of  folk-lore  and 
of  material  for  histories.  It  was  only  a  small  por- 
tion of  the  latter  which  saw  the  light,  all  the  rest 
having  been  destroyed  by  the  Turks  in  1S77.  He 
is  considered  as  the  best  among  our  poets  —  having 
been  also  the  first  among  them  to  lay  down  laws  for 
the  technical  side  of  Bulgarian  verse."  ^ 

Slaveikoff 's  greatest  service  to  the  modern  litera- 
ture of  Bulgaria  was  the  reestablishment  of  the 
vernacular  as  a  literary  language.  Greek  had  held 
the  national  literary  spirit  in  fetters  for  more  than 
four  hundred  years.  He  clearly  saw  that  the  surest 
road  to  the  use  of  the  Bulgarian  as  a  literary  lan- 
guage was  to  publish  in  the  vernacular  the  proverbs 

'  The  Shade  of  Ihc  Balknnf^.  liv  IVnolio  Slavoikoff,  cl  al.  London, 
1904,  pp.  328. 


258  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

and  folk-songs  which  had  been  handed  down  orally 
for  many  generations.  One  of  his  first  literary 
tasks  was  the  collection  of  proverbs  that  were  cur- 
rent among  the  peasants.  This  collection  includes 
17,441  saws  and  maxims  that  contain  the  soul  of 
the  people  and  the  philosophy  which  they  cultivated 
during  the  five  centuries  that  they  were  under  the 
political  bondage  of  the  Turks  and  the  ecclesiastical 
bondage  of  the  Greeks.  "  There  is  more  clearly 
mirrored  in  these  proverbs  than  anjru^here  else," 
remarks  Slaveikoff,  *'  that  extreme  individualism 
w^hich  so  sharply  differentiates  the  Bulgar  from  his 
neighbours." 

He  was  indefatigable  in  his  efforts  to  secure  the 
representative  folk-songs  of  the  Bulgarian  peasants, 
many  of  which  he  printed ;  but  after  his  death  there 
was  found  among  his  papers  an  enormous  number 
of  unprintcd  folk-songs,  many  of  which  have  since 
been  published  by  Dozon,  Rakovsky,  and  Bezsonoff. 
Most  of  the  fragments  of  folk-songs  given  elsewhere 
in  this  volume  are  from  his  unpublished  collection. 
He  was  the  first  to  write  down  the  old  Bulgarian 
epics  of  Krali  Marko,  which  the  Russian  Academy 
of  Sciences  published  in  1855. 

The  excellent  literaiy  quality  of  the  modern  Bul- 
garian translation  of  the  Bible,  which  was  published 
by  the  American  Bible  Society,  must  be  credited  to 
the  cooperation  of  Slaveikoff.  The  publication  of 
the  Scriptures  in  Bulgarian  has  had  an  enormous 
influence  in  determining  the  character  of  the  written 
language.  During  the  centuries  that  the  Bulgarian 
was  used  only  as  a  spoken  language  among  the  peas- 


Modern  Bulgarian  Literature  259 

ants,  numerous  dialects  appeared ;  and  many  of  the 
earlier  writers  of  the  modern  renaissance  made  use 
of  these  dialects.  Dr.  Albert  Long,  an  Amqrican 
missionary  in  Bulgaria,  and  later  a  professor  in 
Robert  College,  wrote  of  Slaveikoff  at  the  time  of 
his  death:  "  A  grateful  nation  will  cherish  his  name 
as  connected  with  some  of  the  sweetest  songs,  most 
attractive  stories,  vigorous  polemics,  earnest  pa- 
triotic appeals,  and  valuable  folk-lore  contributions 
made  by  any  writer  during  the  renaissance  period 
of  Bulgarian  literature.  But  foremost  among  his 
literary  contributions  and  his  influence  upon  the 
language  and  the  moral  development  of  the  nation, 
will  ever  stand  his  work  upon  the  Bulgarian  Bible." 

Certainly  the  most  popular  author  in  Bulgaria 
to-day  is  Ivan  Vazoff,  poet,  dramatist,  and  novelist. 
Vazoff  was  born  at  Sopot  the  9th  of  July,  1850. 
Professor  Radoslav  A.  Tsanoff  writes  of  him:  "  His 
father  was  a  prominent  local  merchant,  an  honest 
old  style  tradesman  of  devout  orthodoxy  and  un- 
flinching honesty.  To  his  mother's  literary  taste 
Vazoff  owes  his  early  book  culture.  Old  Vazoff 
wanted  his  son  to  master  Turkish  and  modem 
Greek,  the  two  dialects  necessary  for  a  merchant  of 
that  day.  Ivan  learned  French  and  Russian,  the 
two  languages  indispensable  for  a  poet  revolution- 
ist."^ 

The  revolutionary  movement  of  the  early  sev- 
enties forced  most  of  the  educated  Bulgars  to  reside 
in  foreign  countries.    Vazoff  took  up  his  residence 

•  Ivan  Vazoff,  Balkan  Poet  and  Novelist.  By  Radoslav  A.  TsanofT. 
Poet  Lore,  1908.     Vol.  19,  pp.  98-110. 


2G0  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

in  Rumania  and  contributed  to  the  Periodic  Revieiv, 
published  at  Braila,  ^'  that  first  tender  leaf  of  the 
budding  Bulgarian  literary  spirit."  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  revolutionary  committee  tliat  directed 
the  insurrectionary  movements  against  the  Turks  in 
1875  and  1876.  He  returned  to  Bulgaria  in  1877  to 
accept  a  government  post  at  Svishtov  under  Prince 
Tcherkasky  after  that  town  had  been  captured  by 
the  Russians.  It  was  there  that  he  learned  the  sad 
fate  of  Sopot  —  the  complete  destruction  of  the 
town  and  the  murder  of  his  father  by  the  Turks. 

During  his  years  of  exile  he  published  three  vol- 
umes of  patriotic  lyrics  —  Sorrmvs  of  Bulgaria, 
Banner  and  Lyre,  and  The  Deliverance.  In  the  first 
he  voices  the  sorrows  of  his  oppressed  countrymen, 
and  in  the  last  their  joys  of  deliverance  from  a  long 
and  oppressive  yoke.  After  the  independence  of 
the  country  he  was  elected  to  the  national  assembly 
of  Eastern  Rumelia.  He  settled  at  Philippopolis, 
where  he  published  his  earliest  prose  works  —  Not 
Long  Ago,  Mitrofan,  Hadji  Akhil,  and  The  Out- 
casts. To  the  same  period  belongs  Mikhalaki,  his 
first  dramatic  work.  He  published  two  collections 
of  verses  in  1883  —  Gusla  and  Fields  and  Woods  — 
and  the  next  year  Italy,  in  which,  as  Professor 
Krsteff  remarks,  he  struck  a  deeper  and  truer  poetic 
note.  "  This  work  was  the  first  book  of  poems  in 
Bulgarian  in  which  a  native  poet  revealed  to  his 
countrj'men  the  inmost  recesses  of  his  soul." 

Vazoff  was  in  the  Servian  war  of  1885;  and  on 
the  battle-fields  of  Slivnitza,  Tsaribrod,  and  Pirot, 
amidst  dying  soldiers  and  "vvithin  sound  of  the  roar 


-I   r^>*f^ 


IVAN     VAZOKl'. 


Modern  Bulgarian  Literature  20 1 

of  cannon,  he  sang  the  valour  of  his  countrymen  in 
dithyrambic  strains  in  Slivnitza  (1885).  Some  of 
the  verses  in  this  volume  are  of  high  merit  and 
establish  his  clahn  to  artistic  rank  as  a  poet. 

Following  the  downfall  of  the  Russian  party  in 
Bulgaria,  Vazoff  spent  three  years  in  exile  at 
Odessa.  Professor  Tsanoff  writes  in  this  connec- 
tion :  "  Vazoff  has  from  the  very  first  been  a  devout 
Russophil.  His  poetic  adoration  for  the  Tsar  Lib- 
erator shut  his  eyes  to  the  vile  hypocrisy  of  the  St. 
Petersburg  diplomats.  He  could  see  nothing  w^rong 
coming  from  Russia.  The  word  of  the  Great  A\nute 
Tsar  had  been  the  gospel  of  his  father;  it  was  a 
sacred  truth  to  him.  While  others  were  paid  for 
their  services,  Vazoff  considered  it  a  mere  act  of 
patriotism  to  '  stand  pat  '  by  Russia.  But  there 
was  a  man  in  Bulgaria,  Stefan  Stamboloff,  the  Bis- 
marck of  the  Balkans,  who  succeeded  in  setting  Rus- 
sia's plotting  to  nought.  Wliile  being  himself  a 
poet  and  respecting  everything  literary,  Stamboloff 
was  before  all  else  a  statesman.  Vazoff  was  a  friend 
of  Russia,  therefore,  in  the  statesman's  eyes,  an 
enemy  of  the  people.  The  bard  of  Sopot  was  ex- 
iled." 

AATiile  in  exile  at  Odessa  he  wrote  Pod  Igofo 
{Under  the  Yoke),  the  novel  that  was  to  make  him 
famous.  Upon  his  return  to  Bulgaria  in  1889  it 
appeared  serially  in  Sbornik,  a  literary  review  pub- 
lished under  the  auspices  of  the  ministry  of  public 
instruction.  This  novel  has  been  tmnslated  into 
all  the  languages  of  Europe  and  two  of  the  lan- 
guages of  Asia.    There  is  an  excellent  English  ver- 


262  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

sion,    with    a    graceful    introduction    by    Edmund 
Gosse.^ 

In  Under  the  Yoke,  as  Mr.  Edmund  Gosse  has 
pointed  out,  Vazoff  has  concentrated  in  riper  form 
than  elsewhere  the  peculiar  gifts  of  his  mind  and 
style.  *'  The  first  quality  tliat  strikes  the  critic  in 
reading  this  v€ry  remarkable  book  is  its  freshness. 
It  is  not  difficult  to  realize  that  in  its  original  form, 
this  must  be  the  earliest  work  of  genius  written 
in  an  unexhausted  language.  Nor,  if  Vazoff  should 
live  eighty  years,  and  should  write  with  unbated 
zeal  and  volume,  is  it  very  likely  that  he  will  ever 
recapture  this  first  fine  careless  rapture.  Under 
the  Yoke  is  a  historical  romance,  not  constructed 
by  an  antiquary  or  imagined  by  a  poet  out  of  vague 
and  insufficient  materials  accidentally  saved  from 
a  distant  past,  but  recorded  by  one  who  lived  and 
fought  and  suffered  through  the  scenes  that  he  sets 
himself  to  chronicle.  It  is  like  seeing  Old  Mortality 
written  by  Morton  or  finding  the  autobiography  of 
Ivanhoe.  It  is  a  history  seen  through  a  powerful 
telescope,  with  mediaeval  figures  crossing  and  re- 
crossing  the  seventies  of  our  own  discoloured  nine- 
teenth century.  When  the  passion  which  animates 
it  is  taken  into  consideration,  the  moderate  and 
artistic  tone  of  Under  the  Yoke  is  worthy  of  great 
praise.  In  the  episode  out  of  the  epic  of  an  intox- 
icated nation,  great  extravagance,  great  violence 
might  have  been  expected  and  excused.  But  this 
tale  of  forlorn  Bulgarian  patriotism  is  constructed 

1  Under  the  Yoke:  a  Romance  of  Bulgarian  Liberty.  By  Ivan  Vazoff. 
With  an  Introduction  by  Edmund  Gosse.  New  and  Revised  Edition. 
London,  1912,  pp.  301.    First  English  edition,  1893. 


Modern  Bulgarian  Literature  263 

with  delicate  consideration,  and  passes  nowhere  into 
bombast.  The  author  writes  out  of  his  heart  things 
which  he  has  seen  and  felt,  but  the  moment  of  frenzy- 
has  gone  by,  and  his  pulse  as  an  observer  has  recov- 
ered its  precision.  The  passion  is  there  still,  the 
intense  conviction  of  intolerable  wrongs,  scarcely 
to  be  wiped  out  with  blood.  The  strenuous  political 
fervour  of  this  romance  is  relieved  by  a  multi- 
tude of  delicate,  touching,  and  humourous  epi- 
sodes." 

The  later  romances  of  Vazoff  include  New  Coun- 
try (1896)  and  The  Queen  of  Kazalar  (1902),  in 
which  he  has  given  a  picture  of  the  social  life  of 
his  country  since  its  liberation.  But  he  has  not 
reached  the  high  mark  of  merit  attained  in  Under 
the  Yoke.  Vazoff  possesses  remarkable  powers  of 
observation;  but,  as  the  Swedish  critic,  Professor 
Jensen,  has  remarked,  "  He  knows  little  or  nothing 
about  racial  psychology,  and  probably  cares  little 
about  it."  Vazoff  has  also  tried  his  hand  at  drama. 
Vagabonds  (1894),  his  most  popular  dramatic  work, 
deals  with  the  life  and  activities  of  the  Bulgarian 
exiles  in  Rumania  just  before  the  liberation.  Over 
the  Abyss,  a  later  drama,  based  upon  ancient  Bul- 
garian history,  strikes  a  higher  note  and  indicates 
better  workmanship.  Ivdilo  (1913),  Vazoff 's  most 
recent  dramatic  piece,  deals  with  the  second  half  of 
the  thirteenth  century,  just  after  the  close  of  the 
glorious  reign  of  Ivan  Asen  TI  in  Bulgaria.  Like 
his  other  dramatic  compositions  it  makes  a  strong 
patriotic  appeal.  TTis  dramas  have  received  cordial 
reception  at  the  National  Theatre  at  Sofia;    and  it 


264  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

is  the  opinion  of  capable  critics  that  they  are  certain 
to  hold  a  prominent  place  in  the  theatres  of  Bulgaria 
because  of  their  effective  situations. 

The  melodious  character  of  Vazoff 's  lyrics  makes 
him  the  favourite  poet  witli  children;  the  school 
readers  of  the  country  contain  many  of  his  poems, 
and  he  enjoys  more  popularity  with  the  masses  of 
his  countrymen  than  any  other  Bulgarian  writer. 
His  poems  have  been  translated  into  Russian,  Slo- 
venian, Servian,  and  Bohemian.  The  translation 
into  Bohemian  by  Voracek  (Prague,  1891)  is  said 
to  be  one  of  the  best  of  the  foreign  versions.  The 
Pine  Tree  appears  in  an  English  version,  by  Lucy 
C.  Bull,  in  the  World's  Best  Literature.  Concern- 
ing the  Epic  of  the  Forgotten  Ones  Professor  Tsa- 
noff  writes:  '*  It  appealed  to  the  very  noblest  senti- 
ments of  a  dauntless  race.  In  a  series  of  fire-breath- 
ing odes,  swinging  in  a  wildly  torrential  rhythm, 
Vazoff  sings  the  glories  of  the  fallen  heroes.  The 
language  is  steeped  in  passion.  Eulogies  of  brave 
champions  intermingle  with  almost  savage  anathe- 
mas at  the  tyrant  Turks  and  the  maliciously  jealous 
Phanariotes."  vSome  of  Vazoff 's  latest  publica- 
tions are  A  Wanderer's  Songs,  Under  Our  Shy,  All 
Sorts  of  People,  and  Things  Seen  and  Heard.  The 
first  and  second  are  volumes  of  verses,  and  the  last 
two  stories  and  sketches. 

A  novelist  wdio  has  not  reached  the  popularity 
of  Vazoff,  but  who  gave  early  promise  of  becoming 
a  worthy  competitor  of  the  author  of  Under  the 
Yoke,  is  Theodore  Vlai'koff  (born  in  1865).  His 
material  is  drawn  from  the  life  of  the  Bulgarian 


Modern  Bulgarian  Literature  265 

peasants,  and  his  romances  are  adroitly  constructed 
on  psychological  problems.  Slavtcho's  Grand- 
daughter (1887)  is  a  charming  idyl  of  village  life. 
Riciier  in  human  content  and  more  acute  in  psy- 
chological analysis  is  The  Servant  (1892).  In  this 
story  he  describes  the  cares  and  sufferings  that  fol- 
lowed the  disappearance  of  the  frugal  habits  and 
patriarchal  customs  of  earlier  days.  The  interest 
of  the  story  is  directed  not  so  much  upon  artistic 
effects  as  upon  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  the 
characters.  Probably  his  most  effective  novel  was 
The  Officer's  Servant  (189G),  in  which  he  describes 
the  new  life  of  his  country.  Exceptionally  well 
drawn  are  the  officer,  his  old  mother,  and  his  serv- 
ant. The  great  artistic  merit  of  this  work  aroused 
hopes  for  the  future  literary  superiority  of  Vlaikoff 
that  have  not  been  realized.  Shortly  after  its  ap- 
pearance, he  renounced  letters  for  politics,  and  his 
later  years  have  been  entirely  occupied  with  social, 
economic,  and  political  matters. 

Stoyan  Michailovsky,  satirist  and  polemist,  was 
born  at  Elena  in  185G;  he  studied  in  the  French 
lycee  at  Constantinople,  and  later  pursued  courses 
in  jurisprudence  at  the  university  of  Aix  in  France. 
He  became  active  in  the  literature  of  political  jour- 
nalism after  his  return  to  Bulgaria,  and  for  some 
years  he  was  professor  in  the  university  at  Sofia. 
His  first  important  publication  was  a  dramatic  poem 
entitled  The  Song  of  Evil  (1882).  Tt  was  a  rather 
obscure  work  that  dealt  with  the  fall  of  man.  A 
more  significant  work  was  Susjnria  de  profundis 
(1883),  a  mystical  composition  that  deals  witli  the 


266  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

sorrows  of  the  Slavs  in  the  ages  past  and  the  rain- 
bow of  promise  in  the  future.  His  most  important 
work,  a  satirical  poem,  is  The  Book  for  the  Bulga- 
rian People  (1897).  It  purports  to  deal  with  polit- 
ical affairs  in  Asia,  but  in  reality  it  is  a  veiled 
attack  on  the  early  years  of  the  reign  of  King  Fer- 
dinand and  the  government  of  Stamboloff. 

Among  the  other  writings  of  Michailovsky  are 
Novissima  Verba,  Lamentations  and  Tears,  Philo- 
sophical and  Satirical  Sonnets,  The  Diary  of  a  Lone- 
some Man,  and  Concealed  Thoughts.  *'  These 
works,"  remarks  Professor  Krsteff,  a  candid  but 
thoroughly  judicious  critic  of  Bulgarian  literature, 
**  bespeak  a  profound  and  contradictory  character 
to  whom  the  riddle  of  existence  does  not  remain 
concealed.  Michailovsky  called  hi7nself  a  lonesome 
man  and  the  statement  is  quite  true.  lie  has  always 
been  a  poet  among  politicians  and  a  politician  among 
poets,  and  he  has  never  l)een  entirely  at  home  in 
either  camp.  He  has  continued  to  be  more  or  less 
a  stranger  in  his  own  time  and  country.  In  his 
ideas  and  language,  as  in  tlic  artistic  forms  in  which 
he  has  chosen  to  give  expression  to  his  political 
and  social  woes,  he  has  clung  rather  closely  to 
French  models." 

Most  of  the  writings  of  Michailovsky  have  a  com- 
mon character.  They  abound  with  epigrams,  aph- 
orisms, and  meditations  inspired  by  love,  duty,  and 
the  struggle  of  life,  and  are  tinged  with  a  gloomy 
religious  mysticism  that  gives  the  tone  feeling  to 
so  many  of  the  creations  of  Slavic  poets.  In  his 
satires  he  assails  graft  and  corruption  and  boodle 


Modern  Bulgarian  Literature  207 

in  political  life,  and  vice  and  hypocrisy  and  unbelief 
in  social  life.  Pessimism  is  the  dominant  note ;  but 
it  is  not  the  pessimism  of  the  sentimentalist,  but 
the  prearliment  of  the  social  and  political  reformer. 
His  prose  writings  are  polemic,  even  vehement,  full 
of  invective  and  biltor  harangue. 

Aleko  Constantinoff  (1863-1897),  a  refined  hu- 
mourist, was  an  author  of  the  first  rank.  He  was 
born  at  Svishtov  the  1st  of  January,  1863.  He 
studied  in  the  elementary  school  at  Svishtov,  and 
at  the  age  of  eleven  entered  the  secondary  school  at 
Gabrovo.  After  the  w^ar  of  1877-1878,  he  was  sent 
to  Russia  to  complete  his  education.  During  the 
seven  years  spent  abroad  in  study,  he  wrote  several 
small  pieces  for  the  theatre,  a  comic  poem  published 
in  1882,  and  published  in  collaboration  with  several 
friends  a  humourous  review.  He  returned  to  Bul- 
garia in  1885  and  received  an  official  appointment 
as  judge  in  the  district  court  of  Sofia.  This  post 
he  soon  lost,  however,  *'  through  the  most  miserable 
of  political  motives." 

He  then  took  up  the  practice  of  law,  and  while 
Avaiting  for  clients  turned  his  attention  to  literature. 
Ho  made  translations  of  tlie  poeins  of  Pushkin,  Ler- 
montoff,  Nekrassoff,  Francois  Coppee,  and  Moliere, 
and  wrote  literary  criticisms  for  the  papers  of  Sofia. 
He  visited  America  in  189.3,  and  upon  his  return 
to  Bulgaria  publisluMl  his  first  l)ook,  To  Chicago  and 
Back.  It  was  a  nolable  book  of  travel  and  gave 
him  a  place  of  disiiiiction  among  the  wnters  of  his 
country. 

It   was,   however,   i]]o   Ihii   (uuiio,   the   Bulgarian 


268  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Tartarin,  that  established  his  fame.  In  this  work  he 
gives  an  account  of  the  visit  of  a  typical  Bulgarian 
peasant  to  Bohemia.  All  the  weak  points  in  the 
character  of  the  peasant  citizen  are  laid  bare;  but 
merciless  as  was  the  veracity  of  the  story,  its  hu- 
mour w^as  so  calm  and  irresistible  that  even  the  Bul- 
garian peasants  enjoyed  it.  Bai  Ganio  is  one  of 
the  finest  contributions  to  the  literature  of  modern 
European  humour,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that 
it  has  never  been  translated  into  English.  There 
is,  however,  a  very  satisfactory  French  ver- 
sion.^ 

In  1894  he  joined  the  ranks  of  the  young  demo- 
cratic party  under  the  leadership  of  Karaveloff  and 
began  the  publication  of  a  series  of  feuilletons  in 
the  newspapers  of  Sofia,  which  he  continued  up  to 
the  moment  of  his  untimely  death.  "  For  these 
feuilletons/'  remarks  Professor  Krsteff,  ''  he  chose 
the  simplest  possible  themes,  but  his  language  was 
so  powerful,  his  style  so  forceful,  and,  withal,  so 
charming,  that  they  acted  like  war  songs  on  the  peo- 
ple. He  controlled  the  literary  world  of  Bulgaria 
and  kept  the  people  in  breathless  expectancy  until 
his  death  in  1897."  2 

While  carriage-riding  in  the  mountains  between 
Bulgaria  and  Macedonia,  and  accompanied  by  Mr. 
Takeff,  minister  of  the  interior  in  the  Malinoff  cab- 
inet,  Constantinoff   received   revolver   bullets   that 

'  Bal  Ganio.  Par  Aleko  ConstantinofT.  Traduit  du  Bulgare  par 
Matel  Gueorguiev  et  Jean  Jagerschmidt.    Paris,  1911,  pp.  245. 

^  Die  neue  bulgarische  Litteraiur.  Von  K.  Kreteff-Miroljuboff.  In- 
ternationale Wochenschrift  fur  Wissenschaft  Kunst  und  Technik,  23rd 
January,  1909. 


ALEKO    CONSTANTINOFF. 


Modern  Bulgarian  Literature  269 

were  intended  for  liis  companion,  and  died  almost 
instantl}'.  At  the  spot  where  he  fell  there  has  been 
erected  a  monument  to  his  memory  which  hears  this 
inscription:  "  Travellers,  tell  to  future  generations 
that  at  this  spot  Aleko  Constantinoff,  poet-author, 
was  assassinated  by  hired  murderers,  the  11th  of 
May,  1897."  A  collection  of  his  works,  with  an 
appreciative  sketch  by  Pencho  Slavei'koff,  was  pub- 
lished after  liis  death.     (Sofia,  1901.) 

There  is,  so  far  as  the  author  knows,  practical 
unifonnity  of  judgment  among  competent  European 
students  of  Bulgarian  literature  with  reference  to 
the  name  that  stands  at  the  head  of  the  list  of  men 
of  letters  in  the  peasant  state.  Pencho  vSlaveikoff 
(1866-1912),  son  of  Petko  Slaveikoff,  the  father  of 
modern  Bulgarian  literature,  struck  a  higher  intel- 
lectual note,  employed  more  refined  literary  canons, 
and  projected  himself  more  effectively  into  the  fu- 
ture than  any  of  his  contemporaries.  Professor 
Jensen  of  Sweden  says  of  him:  '*  He  brought  the 
new  poetry  of  Bulgaria  into  living  relationship  with 
European  culture,  while  at  the  same  time  he  jeal- 
ously preserved  its  unique  national  characteristics. 
No  Bulgarian  poet  has  sung  more  effectively  than 
he  in  honour  of  the  martyr  pioneers;  yet  no  artist 
has  more  ruthlessly  lashed  the  political  and  social 
shortcomings  of  the  Bulgarian  people  than  Pencho 
Slaveikoff." 

An  English  literary  critic,  who  knew  Slavo'iknff 
personally,  gives  this  account  of  him:  "  He  is  the 
caged  lion  of  Sofia.  Great  massive  shoulders,  a 
massive  head,   swarthy,   \vith   beard   of  black   and 


270  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

silvor,  a  brow  that  sets  one  tliinking,  and  eyes  — 
eyes  weary  with  the  world's  troubles,  eyes  of  the 
twilit  woods,  then  of  a  woodland  faun,  eyes  that 
lure  you  and  dance  away  from  you,  eyes  that  laugh 
at  you  and  their  owner,  unbearable  eyes.  Slavei'koff 
is  the  figure  of  revolt.  As  he  walks  painfully 
through  the  town  —  for  his  feet  are  unwilling  trav- 
ellers —  he  longs  with  a  fierce  desire  to  be  where 
no  man  knows  him.  The  passion  of  revolt  is  in  his 
l)lood;  it  burns  in  the  poems  he  wrote  in  Germany, 
whither  the  spirit  of  Nietzsche  summoned  him.  In 
that  series  of  remarkable  poems  he  celebrates  Bee- 
thoven, Lenau,  Shelley,  Nietzsche,  Michael  Angelo 
—  men  who  wrong  great  things  out  of  anguish." 

Pencho  Slavei'koff  was  the  first  Bulgarian  poet 
who  placed  special  emphasis  both  on  the  form  and 
the  content  of  his  creations.  His  predecessors  and 
contemi^oraries  had  been  concerned  primarily  with 
the  spiritual  life  of  the  people;  but  Slavei'koff  rec- 
ognized that  the  poet  must  be  an  artist,  and  that  his 
songs  must  be  cast  in  forms  that  will  bear  the  test 
of  the  highest  canons  of  poetic  art.  The  magical 
perfection  of  his  phrasing,  the  classical  purity  of 
his  language,  and  the  appropriateness  of  his  im- 
agery may  well  serve  as  models  for  the  younger 
poets  of  Bulgaria. 

His  first  really  great  lyrical  composition  was  the 
poetical  cycle,  the  Kaledari,  so  named  in  honour  of 
the  wandering  folk-bards  who  at  Christmas  time 
went  from  place  to  place  singing  songs  of  well- 
wishing,  for  which  they  were  paid  with  small  gifts. 
Here,  as  in  his  other  works,  the  diction  is  of  a  rich 


Modern  Bulgarian  Literature  271 

and  permanent  texture;  and  the  thrill  of  the  prop- 
erly chosen  word,  which  gratifies  at  once  the  ear,  the 
imagination,  and  the  understanding,  is  more  marked 
than  in  any  other  Bulgarian  poet. 

A  melancholy  note  pervades  Epic  Songs  (1890- 
1897),  and  Dreams  (1898),  A  Dream  of  Happiness 
(1908),  and  Island  of  the  Blessed  (1910).  They  are 
brilliantly  coloured  shadows  in  a  brilliantly  coloured 
shadowland ;  and  there  is  behind  these  songs,  as 
Henry  Bernard  has  remarked,  ''  a  living  back- 
ground of  Bulgarian  nature  —  the  tawnj'-coloured 
plains,  the  vast  pine-clad  Eilo  mountains,  the  cele- 
brated rose-fields  of  Rumelia.  Straggling  hamlets 
of  grey  and  yellow  and  at  intervals  a  Turkish  case- 
ment; dark,  active-looking  men,  despite  their  bulg- 
ing pantaloons;  girls  in  gauzy  robes  of  blue  with 
ancient  belts  of  silver-work,  with  coins  and  red  and 
yellow  flowers  twined  among  their  strands  of  hair; 
children,  whose  garment  is  often  the  sunlight,  con- 
gregating in  the  dust  of  villages  or  about  the  little 
river  which  disports  itself  between  the  cobblestones 
of  the  tortuous  main  street  —  no  phase  of  rural  life 
which  is  unknown  to  our  poet." 

Slaveikoff's  masterpiece  is  Kurvava  Pessen  (A 
Bloody  Song).  It  is  a  great  epic,  which  was  unfin- 
ished at  the  time  of  the  death  of  the  poet.  Its  cen- 
tral figure  is  no  human  being,  but  the  genius  of  the 
Bulgarian  race  is  personified  by  Father  Balkan  — 
the  spirit  of  the  vast  chain  of  mountains  that  is 
inseparably  connected  with  the  life  of  the  nation. 
The  story  of  the  sufferings  of  the  Bulgarian  people 
under  the  Turks  and  their  deliverance  by  the  Kus- 


272  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

sians  is  unfolded  in  the  epic  manner  with  large 
inset  episodes.  In  intellectual  comprehension, 
moral  sublimity,  and  rich  description  it  takes  high 
rank  among  the  epics  of  modern  European  litera- 
ture. It  has  an  admirable  Swedish  version;  and, 
but  for  the  untimely  death  of  the  poet,  would  have 
secured  him  the  Nobel  prize. 

Professor  Krsteff,  one  of  the  most  discriminating 
of  Bulgarian  critics,  writes  concerning  the  work  of 
Pencho  Slavei'koff :  "  His  poetical  development  was 
determined  in  part  by  the  Russian  novelists  and  in 
part  by  the  German  lyric  poets.  He  united  the  ten- 
der and  dreamy  soul  of  the  Slav  with  the  thoughtful 
and  artistic  mind  of  the  Teuton.  He  was  the  first 
Bulgarian  poet  who  combined  lofty  standards  of 
form  with  virile  content."  He  took  the  spiritual 
life  of  the  Bulgarian  people,  as  embodied  in  folk- 
song, and  gave  it  new  poetic  energy  and  beauty. 
Wliile  Bulgarian  literature  is  still  in  a  state  of  trans- 
ition, which  makes  it  difficult  for  the  foreign  critic 
to  pronounce  with  any  finality  what  is  better  and 
what  is  best,  there  can  be  but  one  judgment  with 
reference  to  the  work  of  Pencho  Slavei'koff:  It  is 
increasingly  recognized  that  he  reached  the  highest 
point  which  the  authors  of  Bulgaria  have  attained 
in  the  field  of  letters.  For  Slavei'koff  was  more 
than  a  Bulgarian  imet;   he  was  a  poet. 

Petko  Todoroff  (born  1879),  author  of  ballads, 
dramas,  and  essays,  is  probably  the  most  significant 
of  the  younger  living  authors  of  Bulgaria.  He  is 
the  most  modern  of  the  poets  and  approximates 
most  nearly  the  high  rank  attained  by  Pencho  Slave- 


Modern  Bulgarian  Literature  273 

i'koff.  Inconstant,  Bewitched,  Shadows,  and  The 
Marriage  of  the  Sun  (all  of  which  have  been  excel- 
lently translated  into  German  by  Dr.  G.  Adam)  por- 
tray Bulgarian  peasant  life  in  all  the  freshness  of 
its  beauty  and  simplicity. 

His  dramas  likewise  are  notable  creations.  In 
The  Masons  he  describes  the  slow  awakening  of  the 
national  Bulgarian  consciousness,  with  which  he 
has  admirably  blended  the  religious  feelings  of  the 
peasant  folk.  This  is  one  of  the  popular  pieces  in 
the  National  Theatre  at  Sofia.  The  First  Ones,  a 
social  drama,  deals  with  the  period  of  intellectual 
emancipation  from  Greek  culture. 

Todoroff's  greatest  dramatic  achievement  is  The 
Mountain  Fairy,  in  which  the  poet  has  attained  a 
degree  of  poetic  perfection  not  hitherto  reached  by 
other  Bulgarian  authors  in  the  field  of  dramatic  lit- 
erature. It  is  a  work  of  genuine  poetic  inspiration, 
as  well  as  fine  artistry  in  construction,  and  is  cer- 
tain sooner  or  later  to  find  its  way  into  the  reper- 
toire of  European  and  American  theatres. 

All  of  Todoroff's  writings  display  unusual  imag- 
ination and  suggest  the  idealistic  philosophy  that 
mirrors  the  author's  fine  personality.  His  sketches 
of  folk-life  and  his  prose  writings  are  probably  the 
finest  that  have  been  produced  by  any  Bulgarian 
author. 

Constantino  VelitchkofP  (1857-1897)  is  one  of  the 
minor  poets  of  Bulgaria.  He  was  bom  at  Tatar 
Pazardjik ;  studied  in  the  French  lycee  at  Constan- 
tinople, and  participated  in  the  revolutionary  move- 
ment  against  Turkey   that   preceded   the   war   of 


274  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

1877-78.  He  was  captured  and  imprisoned  by  the 
Turks,  and  has  since  publislied  In  Prison,  in  which 
he  gives  his  experiences  during-  that  stirring  and 
dangerous  period.  After  the  liberation  of  Bul- 
garia he  became  Tuinister  of  public  instruction  in 
the  province  of  Eastern  Kumelia.  lie  has  been  a 
careful  translator  of  many  foreign  poems  into  the 
Bulgarian  —  Macheth  of  Shakespeare,  Inferno  of 
Dante,  and  Misanthrope  of  Moliere.  In  1889  he 
published  a  volume  of  sonnets,  most  of  them  in  a 
melancholy  vein,  but  all  of  them  indicating  poetic 
talent  of  no  mean  order.  In  his  prose  works,  as 
in  Letters  from  Borne  (1895),  he  shows  marked 
power  of  description  and  keen  sense  of  appreciation 
of  natural  beauty. 

Another  minor  poet  is  Kyril  Ghristoff  (born  in 
1875).  He  is  the  author  of  patriotic  verses,  erotic 
songs,  and  dramas.  He  was  early  in  life  a  devotee 
of  Italian  x)oetry,  and  some  of  his  poems  of  passion 
show  unmistakable  Italian  influences.  In  a  more 
recent  volume,  Na  Kriistopid  (At  the  Parting  of  the 
Ways),  he  has  shown  finer  feeling  and  a  higher 
order  of  poetic  genius.  His  Selected  Poems  (1904) 
show  mastery  of  lyric  verse  forms.  He  has  shown 
keen  interest  in  working  over  folk-song  motives  and 
folk-ballads.  He  has  achieved  no  marked  success  in 
dramatic  literature,  but  his  dramas  h;ive  unmistaka- 
ble elements  of  promise;  and  as  he  is  a  compara- 
tively young  writer,  his  best  work  in  this  field  may 
lie  in  the  future. 

Payo  Yavoroff  (born  1877)  is  a  lyric  poet  of  rec- 
ognized al)ility.     His  Poems  (1901)  showed  the  un- 


Modern  Bulgarian  Literature  275 

mistakablc  influence  of  the  revolutionary  versifiers, 
and  notably  of  Christo  Boteff;  but  in  a  later  vol- 
ume, Sleeplessness  (1907),  there  is  independence  of 
thought  and  marked  growth  in  poetic  power.  He 
was  a  volunteer  in  the  Macedonian  revolutionary 
movement;  and  his  recent  volume  of  haiduk  songs 
(1909)  has  both  beauty  of  form  and  fine  lyric  senti- 
ment. Many  of  the  choice  lyrics  of  this  collection 
are  richly  coloured  by  the  racial  psychology  of  the 
Bulgarian  people.  Yavoroff's  mastery  of  verse 
technique  is  remarkable.  lie  has  shown,  as  no  one 
else,  the  rare  flexibility  of  Bulgarian,  both  in  rhytlmi 
and  rhyme. 

Anton  Strashimiroff  (born  1875),  a  symbolical 
and  mystical  writer,  is  the  author  of  a  number  of 
novels  and  dramas  that  deal  with  the  life  of  the  Bul- 
garian peasants.  A  significant  work  of  fiction  by 
Strashimiroff  is  the  novel  Troubled  Times  (1899), 
which  deals  with  political  events  in  Bulgaria  fol- 
lowing the  coup  d'ftat  of  18Sn.  His  later  novels. 
An  Autumn  Day  (1901)  anrl  The  Crossroad  (1904), 
deal  with  the  social  and  political  y)roblems  of  sturdy 
village  folks  who  have  grown  up  in  close  touch  with 
nature.  His  most  important  dramatic  composition 
is  The  Unmarked  Grave  (1900). 

The  writer  who  knows  most  intimately  the  life 
of  the  Bulgarian  peasant  is  Elin-Pelin  (Demeter 
Ivanoff),  a  child  of  the  common  people,  whose  short 
stories  are  delightful  genre  pieces.  His  best  knowTi 
romance,  Guerachs,  portrays  the  hard  realities  of 
peasant  existence  during  the  period  of  transition; 
but  the  grim  life  of  the  obstinate  old  Guerach  is 


276  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

relieved  by  the  penetrating  humour  and  the  keen 
observation  of  the  peasant-author. 

Eeference  should  also  be  made  to  Tsanko  Tser- 
kovsky,  born  at  Bela  Tservka  in  1869,  the  peasant 
poet  par  excellence  of  Bulgaria.  He  is  a  peasant 
poet  not  only  in  his  choice  of  subjects,  but  in  his 
point  of  view.  He  has  tried  to  do  with  the  Bulgarian 
folk-song  what  few  others  have  done  in  Bulgaria: 
not  modernize  it,  but  catch  its  spirit,  and  in  its  spirit 
express  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  the  present  peasant 
life. 

Among  modern  political  writers  may  be  named 
Simeon  Eadeff,  journalist,  historian,  and  essayist, 
author  of  the  Builders  of  Bulgaria,  and  probably 
the  ablest  journalist  in  the  country;  St.  Daneff, 
politician  and  lawyer,  and  author  of  works  on  juris- 
prudence and  political  science;  Stephen  S.  Bob- 
tcheff,  diplomat  and  politician,  and  writer  on  legal 
and  political  subjects;  and  Vasil  Zlatarsky,  the  his- 
torian. 

In  the  field  of  literary  criticism  should  be  named 
A.  Balabanoff,  Ivan  Shishmanoff,  Boyan  Penneff, 
and  Constantine  Krsteff.  Authors  in  the  field  of 
philology  and  folk-lore  include  Jordan  Ivanoff, 
Benu  Tsoneff,  Lubomir  Miletitch,  and  A.  Arnaou- 
doif ;  Peter  Neukoff  and  Ivan  Georgoff  are  the  two 
leading  writers  on  pedagogy  and  psychology;  a 
really  forceful  and  original  writer  in  the  field  of 
philosophy  is  Dimiter  Michaltscheff,  and  among 
notable  scientific  writers  may  be  mentioned  George 
Zlastarsky,  Stephen  Petkoff,  and  George  Boncheff. 


CHAPTER    XIX 

PAINTING    AND    SCULPTURE 

High  rank  of  Bulgaria  in  painting  —  Earliest  artists  foreigners  — 
Professor  Ivan  D.  Mirkvicka  —  Wide  range  of  his  artistic  activ- 
ities —  Studies  of  Bulgarian  peasants  —  His  historical  paintings  — 
Mural  paintings  in  the  Alexander  Nevsky  cathedral  —  Founder  of 
the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  —  Yaroslav  Veshin  —  Pavlovitch  and 
Dospevsky  —  Professor  Anton'  MitofT  —  Ivan  AngelolT  —  Other 
painters  —  Sculpture  —  Collections  of  paintings  —  Art  school  at 
Sofia. 

When  it  is  recalled  that  for  a  period  of  five  hun- 
dred years  the  Bulgars  were  subjected  to  the  mis- 
rule of  the  Turks,  and  that  they  have  enjoyed  free- 
dom from  the  Ottoman  yoke  for  less  than  thirty-six 
years,  it  will  surprise  even  well  informed  people 
to  hear  that  Bulgaria  is  already  taking  an  honour- 
able place  among  the  culture-nations  of  modern 
Europe.  The  political  and  literary  activity  of  the 
rejuvenated  nation  has  reacted  favourably  on  the 
art  movement  of  the  country,  and  already  the  young 
kingdom  has  a  very  satisfactory  list  of  paintings 
and  painters  to  her  credit  account. 

The  artist  who  has  done  most  to  win  distinction 
for  Bulgaria  in  the  field  of  painting  is  Professor 
Ivan  V.  Mirkvicka,  a  Bohemian  by  birth  but  a  Bul- 
gar  in  spirit.  After  the  freedom  of  Bulgaria  from 
Turkish  rule,  a  dozen  artists  flocked  to  the  new 
country  from  Germany,  Bohemia,  Russia,  and 
France;  but  most  of  them  soon  became  discouraged 

277 


278  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

with  the  unfavourable  couditions  they  had  to  face, 
and  left  the  country.  The  conditions  for  art  work 
were  most  adverse ;  there  were  no  galleries  or  art 
collections  or  exliibits;  even  art  materials  and  mod- 
els were  obtained  with  great  difficulty. 

But  Mirkvicka  became  acclimated;  the  life  of  the 
young  nation  interested  him.  Writing  in  later  life 
of  his  early  experiences  in  Bulgaria  he  says:  "  At 
the  school  I  tried  my  best  to  inspire  my  pupils  with 
artistic  taste  and  a  love  of  art.  As  for  myself  I 
lived  a  very  quiet  life.  The  splendid  scenery  around 
me,  and  the  characteristic  faces  I  met  at  every  step, 
aroused  the  artist  within  me,  and  made  me  long  to 
put  all  these  things  on  canvas.  I  devoted  myself 
to  the  study  of  Bulgarian  nature  and  to  the  national 
ethnic  types,  and  in  doing  so  derived  great  pleasure. 
Nowhere  can  one  find  such  varied  types  and  such 
interesting  costumes  as  are  to  be  found  here.  Things 
have  kept  the  natural  imprint,  and  neither  the  bar- 
bers nor  the  fashion  papers  have  succeeded  in  giv- 
ing the  same  appearance  to  every  one.  The  homme 
du  peuple  has  preserved  his  manner  of  wearing  his 
clothes,  of  putting  on  his  fur  cap  and  belt,  and  of 
leaving  his  chest  bare.  All  this  has  something  in- 
dividual about  it." 

Mirkvicka  is  an  astonishingly  productive  artist. 
There  is  scarcely  any  branch  of  painting  —  genre 
pieces,  landscapes,  portraits,  historical  composi- 
tions, icons,  mural  paintings  —  at  which  he  has  not 
tried  bis  hand  and  in  which  he  has  not  attained 
extraordinary  results.  But  it  is  the  Bulgarian  peas- 
ants that  supply  the  groundwork  of  his  best  paint- 


IVAN    V.    .M1KK\ICKA. 


Painting  and  Sculpture  270 

ings.  It  is  in  genre  pieces  that  he  reaches  the  ripest 
maturity  of  his  genius.  And  his  Bulgarian  peasants 
are  full  of  dignity  and  beauty.  He  does  not  paint 
them  "  as  darkened  by  the  pall  of  an  unremediable 
fatality,  but  as  strong  men  and  women  fronting  with 
strength  the  vicissitudes  of  their  existence." 

No  other  artist  has  given  such  a  sympatlietic  and 
varied  survey  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  peasant 
state.  His  genre  pieces  have  grown  out  of  and  into 
the  circumstances  of  peasant  life  iii  Bulgaria  and 
Macedonia.  They  represent  all  the  traits  of  a  hardy 
peasant  folk,  the  characteristic  gestures,  the  heavi- 
ness of  the  motley  dress,  and  an  extravagance  of 
colour  that  sometimes  offends  the  western  eye  un- 
familiar with  life  in  the  Balkans;  but  tliere  is  a 
beautiful  humanity  in  all  the  paintings  that  tell  the 
story  of  Bulgar  life,  and  it  is  the  humanity  of  the 
Bulgar  nature. 

A  good  example  of  this  kind  of  work  b}^  Mir- 
kvicka  is  "  The  horo  in  a  Bulgarian  khan."  The 
horo  is  the  national  dance  of  the  country,  danced 
on  holidays  by  the  peasants  attired  in  all  their 
finery.  There  is  a  comprehension  of  details  in  this 
painting,  as  complete  as  that  of  the  Dutch  masters. 
You  see  the  Turkish  coffee-pot  on  the  wall,  the  Bul- 
gars  in  their  highly  coloured  costumes,  with  the 
characteristic  sandals,  and  lacings  running  up  the 
home-spun  woollen  stockings.  You  feel  as  you  look 
at  the  painting  the  absorption  of  Ihe  artist  in  the 
emotions  of  the  dancers  and  liis  desire  to  give  the 
whole  affair  faithful  reproduction.  This  phase  of 
Mirkvicka's  work  will  have  lasting  value;   for  these 


280  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

peasant  types  and  customs  are  certain  to  pass  away 
with  time,  and  his  pictures  will  come  to  have  large 
historical  significance. 

Another  interesting  example  of  his  genre  work 
is  "  All  Souls'  Day  in  a  Country  Churchyard." 
Peasants  have  come  to  the  graves  of  their  departed 
kin  with  dishes  of  boiled  wheat,  baskets  of  bread 
and  cake,  flasks  of  oil  and  honey,  and  bunches  of 
flowers.  Black  robed  priests  bless  the  food  which 
the  mourners  place  on  the  graves,  at  the  same  time 
chanting  dirges  which  recount  the  virtues  of  the 
departed.  It  is  a  scene  of  exquisite  refreshment 
to  the  spirit.  *'  Burning  of  a  Macedonian  Village," 
"The  Pursuit,"  and  ''The  Rhodope  Wedding" 
are  other  notable  examples  that  deal  wdth  the  life 
of  the  common  people.  '*  The  Rhodope  Wedding," 
owned  by  Mr.  Charles  R.  Crane  of  Chicago,  is  big 
in  life  and  art.  The  simple  faith  and  habits  of 
mountain  peasants  are  represented  with  noble  seri- 
ousness and  a  tenderness  that  is  irresistibly  appeal- 
ing. 

Mirkvicka  has  also  achieved  notable  results  as  a 
portrait  painter.  In  all  his  portraits  there  is  an 
amazing  suggestion  of  actuality.  His  painting  of 
the  Princess  Maria  Louisa,  first  wife  of  King  Ferdi- 
nand of  Bulgaria,  is  executed  in  the  old  mosaic  style 
and  represents  the  princess  as  the  founder  of  the 
new  Bulgarian  dynasty.  She  is  seated  on  an  an- 
tique throne  and  is  garbed  in  the  beautiful  costume 
of  media?.val  Bulgarian  queens.  His  portrait  of 
King  Ferdinand,  also  in  the  antique  style,  gives  one 
a  good  notion  of  the  artist's  delicate  schemes  of 


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Painting  and  Sculpture  281 

colour  and  the  excellent  adjustment  of  their  values. 
Another  interesting  portrait  is  his  conception  of 
Paissy,  the  monk  and  scholar  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. 

His  historical  paintings  are  full  of  tragic  horror, 
but  they  give  the  actuality  of  the  terrible  events 
which  always  seizes  his  imagination,  and  one  is 
pretty  certain  to  discover  in  these  historical  paint- 
ings the  fundamental  note  of  humanity  beneath  his 
tragic  actors. 

The  new  Alexander  Nevsky  cathedral  at  Sofia 
contains  some  of  Professor  Mirkvicka's  latest  work. 
The  cathedral  was  built,  at  a  cost  of  more  than  one 
million  dollars,  as  a  token  to  Russia  for  the  libera- 
tion of  the  Bulgarian  people  from  the  Turkish  yoke. 
These  mural  paintings  represent  a  rather  wide 
range  of  historical  and  religious  subjects,  such  as 
''Christ  in  the  Temple,"  ''The  Seven  Saints  to 
the  Slavs,"  "Holy  Zlata,"  'Mohn  the  Baptist," 
''  Salome  and  Herod,"  and  "  Moses  and  Aaron." 
These  mural  paintings  show  breadth  of  pinturesque 
style  and  a  refined  pictorial  sense.  They  are  ad- 
justed with  wonderful  skill  to  the  architectural 
spaces  embellished. 

Professor  Mirkvicka  was  the  founder  of  the  Acad- 
emy of  Fine  Arts  at  Sofia  and  its  first  president; 
he  organized  the  first  art  exhibit  held  in  Bulgaria, 
and  has  been  the  teacher  of  most  of  the  men  who  are 
doing  distinguished  work  in  art  in  the  country.  His 
paintings  were  exhibited  at  Paris  in  1900,  at  St. 
Louis  in  1904,  at  Liege  in  1905,  and  at  Brussels  in 
1910.    Most  of  his  pictures  are  in  the  palaces  and 


282  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

public  and  priviito  buildings  in  Bulgaria  and  Servia, 
although  several  adorn  the  home  of  that  well-known 
Amerieau  friend  of  Slavic  art,  Mr.  Charles  R.  Crane 
of  Chicago. 

Yaroslav  Veshin,  also  a  Bohemian  by  birth,  is 
another  foreigner  who  has  contributed  to  the  devel- 
opment of  the  art  life  of  the  young  kingdom. 
Veshin  had  studied  in  the  art  academies  at  Prague 
and  Munich,  and  had  acquired  considerable  repu- 
tation as  a  painter  before  he  came  to  Bulgaria.  He 
taught  for  a  time  in  secondary  schools  and  the  art 
academy  after  coming  to  the  country,  and  was  later 
connected  with  the  war  department  as  official 
painter.  His  most  important  paintings  take  as 
subjects  winter  landscapes,  hunting  scenes,  and  old 
Turkish  villages.  "  Tn  his  c/enre  pictures,"  writes 
Protitch,  "  especially  in  his  paintings  of  peasants, 
gypsies,  and  Turks,  he  introduces  a  sense  of  humour 
quite  personal  to  himself.  With  his  well-established 
style  Veshin  has  exercised  a  profound  influence  on 
all  his  pupils."^  Mihoff  and  Petroff,  two  of  the 
Bulgarian  artists  who  have  attained  distinction, 
were  trained  by  Veshin. 

The  Polish  artist  Piotrovsky,  who  came  to  Bul- 
garia as  correspondent  and  artist  for  various  jour- 
nals in  1885,  jjainted  a  number  of  important  war 
pieces.  His  most  important  work  was  "  The  Mas- 
sacre in  Batak."  Protitch  says  of  this  historical 
painting:  ^'  It  displays  great  mastery  in  individu- 
alizing crowds  and  in  rendering  events  in  a  simple 
and  easily  comprehensible  form:    to  the  right,  the 

'  Fine  Art  in  Bulgaria.     15y  Audrey  Protitch.     London,  1907,  pp.  37. 


Painting  and  Sculpture  283 

burning  village  of  Batak;  to  the  left,  mutilated, 
dying  Bulgarians  and  the  victors  covered  with  tlieir 
cheap  glory  —  Circassians,  baslii-bozouks,  Turkish 
women,  and  gypsies  revelling  in  the  dreadful  spec- 
tacle presented  by  the  burning  village." 

Among  native  Bulgarians  the  first  to  attain  dis- 
tinction in  art  were  Nicholas  Pavlovitch  and  Vladi- 
slav Dospevsky.  Pavlovitch  was  born  at  Svishtov 
in  1835;  studied  in  the  art  academies  at  Munich 
and  Vienna,  and  travelled  in  Russia.  He  returned 
to  Bulgaria  in  1861  and  endeavoured  by  means  of 
paintings  and  lithographs  dealing  with  the  ancient 
history  of  the  country  to  stimulate  the  patriotism 
and  intellectual  life  of  his  compatriots.  He  also 
endeavoured  to  reform  ilie  icon  ])aiutings  for  the 
Orthodox  church,  but  without  appreciable  results. 
He  made  two  unsuccessful  attempts  to  organize  a 
school  of  painting.  In  1867  he  illustrated  for  the 
Turkish  pasha  at  Kustcluik  a  history  of  the  janis- 
saries. After  the  liberation  of  Bulgaria  from  Turk- 
ish rule  he  sensed  for  seven  years  as  an  inspector 
of  schools  (1878-1885). 

Vladislav  Dospevsky  studied  in  Russia  and  was 
largely  interested  in  church  paintings.  He  joined 
with  Pavlovitch  in  an  effort  to  modernize  church 
painting  in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of 
modern  artistic  technique,  but  without  much  success. 

Professor  Anton  Mitoff,  an  associate  of  Professor 
Mirkvicka  in  the  Academy  of  Pine  Arts  at  Sofia, 
is  also  a  ])ainter  of  high  mei-it.  Mitoff  is  a  Bulgar; 
he  was  born  at  Stara  Zagora  the  31st  of  March, 
1862;    graduated  at  the  art  academy  at  Florence, 


284  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

and  has  passed  his  active  life  as  a  teacher  and 
painter.  He  has  exhibited  at  Rome,  Venice,  St. 
Louis,  and  Liege,  and  his  pictures  are  to  he  found 
chiefly  in  public  and  private  collections  in  Sofia  and 
Belgrade. 

There  is  a  note  of  unmistakable  force  and  inde- 
pendence in  all  of  Mitoff's  work,  and  it  is  some- 
times tempered  with  fine  poetic  feeling.  His  pic- 
torial sense  is  one  of  the  sources  of  greatness  in 
his  art,  and  his  best  paintings  represent  the  life  of 
his  people.  *'  Market  Scene  at  Sofia,"  "  Lemonade 
Vendor  at  Stara  Zagora,"  "  Washing  by  the  Brook 
at  Plevna,"  and  "  Death  of  the  Patriarch  Eftimi  " 
are  full  of  significant  suggestion. 

Mitoff  is  also  liberally  represented  in  the  new 
cathedral  of  Alexander  Nevsky  at  Sofia.  There  is 
piquancy  and  virility  in  his  conception  of  St. 
Method,  St.  Kyril,  and  King  Boris;  and  fine  feeling 
in  the  altar-piece,  ''  Christ  and  the  Virgin."  The 
mosaics  of  the  king's  altar  in  the  cathedral  are  from 
drawings  by  Mitoff.  The  superb  decorations  of  the 
walls  and  ceiling  of  the  council  chamber  of  the  Bul- 
garian Agricultural  Bank  at  Sofia  are  the  joint  la- 
bours of  Mitoff  and  Mirkvicka. 

Ivan  Angeloff,  who  studied  at  Rome  and  Munich, 
is  a  Bulgarian  artist  of  the  Millet  scliooL  He  has 
caught  the  spirit  of  the  Bulgarian  peasant,  and  his 
discrimination  of  light  values  links  his  art  with 
that  of  the  impressionists.  His  most  notable  paint- 
ing is  '*  Peasants  Taking  the  Oath."  Nicholas 
Petroff  is  a  water-colour  painter  who  shows  unusual 
comprehension  of  the  subtle  qualities  of  rural  life 


AN'TON    MI  TOFF. 


Painting  and  Sculpture  285 

in  his  scenes  on  the  banks  of  the  Danube  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Vidin. 

Stefan  Ivanoff,  the  most  distinguished  icon 
painter  in  Bulgaria,  has  done  some  creditable  work 
with  the  methods  of  the  impressionists.  Marin 
Georgieff,  a  student  of  Mirkvicka,  has  some  pleas- 
ing paintings  of  ancient  church  ruins;  Alexander 
Moutafoff,  some  interesting  melancholy  subjects; 
Christo  Berberoff,  some  fine  bits  of  landscape; 
Nicholas  Mihailoff,  some  excellent  portraits;  and 
Krali  Marko  suggests  an  artist's  dream  of  atmos- 
phere and  colour  in  his  representations  from  Bul- 
garian folk-lore. 

Alexander  Bojinoff,  who  is  reasonably  well  kno^Ti 
in  Europe  as  a  caricaturist,  has  a  number  of  ad- 
mirable symbolical  landscape  works  in  water  colours 
and  pastel.  But  his  caricatures  of  village  life  in 
Bulgaria  represent  his  best  work, 

Bulgaria  has  made  less  notable  contributions  to 
sculpture  than  to  painting.  Andrey  Protitch  is 
authority  for  the  statement  that  this  backwardness 
is  due  to  the  puritanical  attitude  of  the  Bulgarian 
people  towards  undraped  figures.  Andrea  Niko- 
loff  has  made  creditable  busts  of  the  artists  Mir- 
kvicka and  Mitoff  and  the  poet  Vazoff,  as  well  as 
heads  of  children.  The  historical  monument  at 
Kustendil  is  by  him.  There  is  an  interesting  group 
of  miners  in  the  national  museum  at  Sofia  by  Alex- 
ander Andraeff ;  Marin  VassileiT  has  a  creditable 
bust  of  Alexander  of  Battenberg,  and  several  pieces 
by  Yetcho  Spiridonoff  have  artistic  worth.  The 
workers  in  ceramics  by  young  artists  connected  with 


286  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

the  school  of  painting  at  Sofia  have  done  some  alto- 
gether noteworthy  pictorial  work  on  vases. 

The  most  important  collections  of  paintings  in 
Bulgaria  are  found  in  the  royal  palaces  at  Sofia, 
Varna,  Philippopolis,  Tcham-Koria,  and  Gorubli- 
nay.  The  Bulgarian  Agricultural  Bank  at  Sofia 
contains  a  number  of  mural  paintings  by  Mirkvicka 
and  Mitoff.  The  walls  of  the  national  assembly 
at  the  capital  contain  portraits  of  the  Tsar  Libera- 
tor (Alexander  II  of  Russia),  Prince  Alexander  of 
Battenberg,  King  Ferdinand,  Princess  Maria  Lou- 
isa, and  Prince  Boris  by  Nicholas  Mihailoff.  The 
new  cathedral  of  Alexander  Nevsky  and  the  palace 
of  the  Holy  Synod,  described  elsewhere,  also  con- 
tain rich  collections  of  paintings  by  modern  Bul- 
garian artists.  The  national  government  has  made 
a  beginning  in  the  matter  of  a  collection  of  paint- 
ings representative  of  the  art  life  of  the  nation. 
But  this  meagre  collection,  badly  housed  in  the 
national  museum  at  Sofia,  gives  a  very  inadequate 
idea  of  the  present  state  of  art  in  Bulgaria. 

Several  art  exhibitions  have  been  held  in  Bulgaria 
and  Bulgarian  artists  h^ve  exhibited  at  most  of 
the  recent  European  expositions.  Two  societies  of 
artists  have  been  formed  — ' '  The  Society  of  Bul- 
garian Artists  "  and  "  The  Modern  Art  Society." 

In  1895  the  national  government  organized  a  state 
scliool  of  art  at  Sofia  for  the  training  of  students 
of  plastic  and  fine  arts ;  teachers  of  painting,  draw- 
ing, and  manual  arts  in  the  secondary  and  technical 
schools;  and  artists  for  the  various  art  industries, 
such  as  icon  painting,  wood  carving,   goldsmiths' 


Painting  and  Sculpture  287 

work,  and  ceramics.     Most  of  the  leading  artists 

of  the  country  are  or  have  been  members  of  the 

faculty,  and  practically  all  of  the  younger  artists 
have  studied  in  the  school. 


CHAPTER   XX 

FAEMS    AND    FORESTS 

Agriculture  the  mainstay  —  Peasant  ownership  —  Common  pasture 
lands  —  Cereal  products  —  Cultivation  of  rosea  —  Orchard  fruits 
—  Growth  of  tobacco  —  Rearing  of  live-stock  —  Bulgarian  Agri- 
cultural Bank  —  Need  of  agricultural  education  —  Social  life  of 
the  peasant  farmers  —  Forests  of  Bulgaria  —  Government  regula- 
tions —  The  forests  of  the  Ililo  and  the  Rhodope  mountains. 

Agriculture  is  the  mainstay  of  Bulgaria.  Three- 
fourths  of  the  people  are  farmers,  and  products  of 
the  soil  are  the  chief  source  of  wealth.  The  pop- 
ulation of  the  country  is  sparse ;  capital  is  not  abun- 
dant; the  peasants  are  conservative,  and  agi'icul- 
tural  methods  are  primitive.  Fertilizers  are  not 
generally  used ;  rotation  of  crops  is  little  practised, 
and  modern  farming  implements  are  rather  rare. 
Water  buffalo  and  oxen  are  the  chief  beasts  of  bur- 
den, although  camels  are  still  used  to  a  slight  ex- 
tent in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  kingdom.  The 
water  buffalo  are  strong  and  patient  animals,  but 
they  require  much  care.  There  are  few  horses  in 
the  country,  but  the  Bulgarian  horse,  although  small, 
is  hardy  and  intelligent. 

Peasant  proprietorship  is  general.  Farms  are 
small,  the  average  being  about  eighteen  acres.  To 
except  the  lands  owned  by  the  monasteries,  there 

288 


Farms  and  Forests  289 

are  no  large  estates  in  Bulgaria.  Very  few  people 
in  the  agricultural  districts  work  for  wages.  Each 
farmer  cultivates  his  own  small  holding  and  depends 
for  his  livelihood  upon  the  products  of  his  own 
hands.  The  method  of  inheritance,  adopted  after 
the  liberation  from  the  Turkish  yoke,  has  tended 
to  make  the  holdings  smaller  and  smaller.  There 
are  one  hundred  thousand  farmers  in  Bulgaria  with 
farms  of  two  and  one-half  acres,  and  less  than  one 
hundred  farmers  with  more  than  seven  hundred 
acres. 

The  Bulgarian  farmers  as  a  class  live  roughly, 
even  sordidly.  They  enjoy  very  few  rude  comforts, 
but  they  are  independent  and  contented.  Their 
industry  is  proverbial.  Their  power  of  endurance 
is  remarkable.  Poverty,  in  the  sense  in  which  the 
word  is  used  in  Europe  and  America,  is  simply 
unknown  in  Bulgaria;  for  the  peasant  farmers  are 
not  only  industrious:  they  add  to  the  capacity  for 
hard  work  the  virtues  of  temperance  and  frugal- 

ity. 

In  addition  to  their  farms,  the  peasants  have  cer- 
tain pasture  lands  that  are  held  in  perpetuitj^  by 
the  communities.  Farmers  have  the  right  of  pas- 
turing their  domestic  animals  on  these  communal 
meadows.  Certain  forest  lands  are  also  held  in 
common,  from  which  wood  for  fuel  may  be  taken. 
No  taxes  are  paid  on  the  lands  held  by  communities. 
The  house-community  was  until  very  recent  times 
an  important  institution  of  farm  life.  Family 
groups  lived  together  in  patriarchal  fashion.  Some- 
times as  many  as  ten  or  a  dozen  families  lived  to- 


290  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

gether  on  a  large  farm  and  observed  communistic 
principles. 

About  forty-six  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  Bulgaria 
is  susceptible  of  cultivation.  Three-fourths  of  the 
products  of  the  soil  are  cereals ;  wheat,  maize,  bar- 
ley, oats,  and  rye  being  the  chief  cereal  products. 
The  best  wheat  and  maize  lands  are  on  the  plains 
that  border  the  Danube.  From  the  Dobrudja  region, 
which  Bulgaria  was  forced  to  cede  to  Rumania  as 
a  result  of  the  last  war,  the  yield  of  wheat  alone 
exceeded  eight  million  dollars  annually.  The  adop- 
tion of  modern  methods  of  agriculture  would  greatly 
augment  the  yield  of  cereals.  The  primitive  wooden 
plough  of  Biblical  days  is  still  generally  used.  It 
does  scarcely  more  than  scratch  the  soil.  Harrows 
are  seldom  used.  The  Bulgarian  farmer  makes  lit- 
tle use  of  manures  in  his  cultivation  of  cereals. 
Rape  and  hemp  are  also  grown;  the  former  for 
exportation  and  the  latter  for  its  fibre,  which  is 
made  into  rope  in  the  large  rope  factories  near 
Sofia. 

The  cultivation  of  roses  is  the  chief  occupation 
of  one  hundred  fifty  villages  in  a  sheltered  valley 
between  the  Balkan  mountains  and  the  Sredna  Gora. 
The  valley  is  eighty  miles  long  and  thirty  miles 
wide,  with  an  area  of  eighteen  thousand  acres  de- 
voted to  the  cultivation  of  roses.  The  world's  sup- 
ply of  that  expensive  luxury  known  as  attar  of  roses 
comes  from  this  valley.  The  attar  is  obtained  by 
the  distillation  of  the  rose  petals.  Damask  roses 
are  chiefly  cultivated.  The  rose-fields  are  cultivated 
after  the  manner  of  vineyards.    The  petals  are  gath- 


HAHVESTINti    WITH    CAMELS. 


^^i£.' 


THHESHINC    wiii;\r 


Farms  and  Forests  291 


ered  at  the  end  of  May  or  the  beginning  of  June. 
They  are  taken  from  the  rose-bnshes  in  the  early 
morning  while  the  half-opened  buds  are  still  wet 
with  dew,  the  rose  being  broken  off  just  below  the 
calyx.  A  wax-like  substance  sticks  to  the  hands  of 
the  girls  and  women  who  gather  the  roses.  This 
is  scraped  off  from  time  to  time  and  manufactured 
into  a  substance  that  is  used  for  coating  metal  neck- 
laces. 

An  acre  of  land  will  produce  about  four  thousand 
pounds  of  roses,  but  it  takes  two  hundred  pounds 
of  petals  to  produce  a  single  ounce  of  rose  oil. 
After  the  petals  have  been  gathered  they  are  taken 
to  the  distillery.  In  the  process  of  distillation,  the 
tiny  yellow  globules  of  oil  come  to  the  surface  and 
are  skimmed  off  with  a  feather.  Kazanlik,  Karlova, 
and  Klissura  are  the  chief  distilling  centres  of  the 
attar  of  roses. 

The  orchard  fruits  cultivated  are  plums,  apples, 
peaches,  and  apricots.  Figs  and  pomegranates  are 
grown  in  abundance  in  Eastern  Rumelia.  The  most 
productive  orchard  lands  arc  the  plains  of  Kusten- 
dil  and  Gabrovo.  Quantities  of  nuts  are  grown, 
including  walnuts,  almonds,  and  hazel  nuts.  Anise, 
sesame,  and  colza  seeds  are  produced  in  the  south- 
ern parts  of  the  country. 

Tobacco  is  an  important  agricultural  product. 
The  tobacco  regions  are  in  the  districts  of  Xanthi, 
Kustendil,  Philippopolis,  and  Haskovo.  Before  the 
Balkan  wars,  the  yield  of  tobacco  exceeded  eight 
thousand  pounds  a  year.  The  tobacco  lands  in  the 
Silistria  district,  however,  have  been  ceded  to  Ku- 


292  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

■  — 

mania;  but  Bulgaria  has  acquired  tlie  rich  tobacco 
lands  in  the  Xanthi  district,  where  the  finest  quality 
of  Turkish  tobacco  has  long  been  grown.  With  the 
acquisition  of  new  tobacco  districts  in  Thrace  and 
Macedonia  the  acreage  devoted  to  tobacco  culture 
will  be  doubled,  and  the  yield  will  probably  reach 
twenty  million  pounds  a  year.  The  Bulgarian  gov- 
ernment encourages  the  growth  of  tobacco  by  dis- 
tributing seed  of  a  good  quality  free  of  cost  to  the 
planters,  by  placing  a  bounty  on  the  tobacco  ex- 
ported, and  by  authorizing  the  Bulgarian  National 
Bank  to  grant  loans  to  the  planters  on  surety  cer- 
tificates until  they  are  able  to  dispose  of  their  crops 
advantageously. 

The  cultivation  of  beet-root  has  recently  been 
introduced  in  the  country,  chiefly  in  the  province 
of  Sofia,  and  there  has  been  established  in  the 
suburbs  of  the  capital  a  sugar  refinery  that  utilizes 
the  whole  crop.  There  are  vineyards  on  the  slopes 
of  the  Balkans,  the  Srcdna  Gora,  and  the  Rhodopes, 
and  the  yield  of  wine  is  considerable.  Rice  is  grown 
in  the  provinces  of  Philippopolis  and  Kustendil, 
and  beans  are  grown  in  considerable  quantities  in 
many  parts  of  the  kingdom.  Some  cotton  is  grown 
in  the  lower  Maritza  valley. 

The  rearing  of  live-stock  constitutes  an  important 
branch  of  rural  economy  in  Bulgaria.  With  the 
rapid  agricultural  development  of  the  country  that 
began  twenty-five  years  ago,  many  of  the  pasture 
lands  were  brought  under  cultivation  and  the  forage 
ranges  of  the  shepherds  accordingly  greatly  de- 
creased.    The  government  has  attempted  to  help 


Farms  and  Forests  293 

the  goat  and  sheep  herders  increase  the  quantity 
of  food  supply  for  their  flocks  by  supplying  them 
without  cost  lucern  and  vetch  seed,  and  by  exempt- 
ing such  pasture  lands  from  taxation.  There  has 
been  in  consequence  very  great  increase  in  the  num- 
ber of  sheep  and  some  increase  in  the  number  of 
goats  and  cattle.  Poultry-raising  and  dairying  are 
growing  in  importance,  as  are  bee-culture  and  the 
growth  of  silk-worms.  A  beginning  has  been  made 
in  the  matter  of  agricultural  education.  This  is  the 
imperative  need  of  tlie  hour. 

The  Bulgarian  Agricultural  Bank  is  an  important 
adjunct  of  the  farm  interests  of  the  country.  It  is 
located  at  Sofia  and  has  eighty-five  branches  in 
cities  and  towns,  and  seventy-six  agencies  in  vil- 
lages. It  is  administered  by  a  council  which  con- 
sists of  a  governor  and  four  administrators  ap- 
pointed by  the  king.  The  capital  amounts  to  $8,000,- 
000.  The  bank  accepts  deposits;  advances  loans 
guaranteed  by  mortgages  or  securities ;  lends  farm- 
ers money  for  bujang  cattle,  seed,  or  farming  im- 
plements; opens  uncovered  accounts  with  farmers 
and  cooperative  societies;  makes  loans  guaranteed 
by  cattle  and  agricultural  produce;  buys  farming 
implements,  cattle,  and  seed  for  farmers;  advances 
loans  to  departments  and  villages,  when  such  loans 
are  destined  for  public  improvements;  transfers 
and  collects  commercial  bills.  Agricultural  banks 
pay  5  per  cent,  on  deposits  for  five  years;  4  per 
cent,  for  three  years,  and  3  per  cent,  for  one  year. 
One  per  cent,  is  paid  on  deposits  left  for  unlimited 
l)oriods.     Six  per  cent,  is  charged  on  loans  guar- 


294  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

anteed  by  the  deposit  of  securities,  7  per  cent. 
on  mortgage  loans,  and  8  per  cent,  on  personal 
guarantees.^ 

The  greatest  need  of  the  Bulgarian  farmer  to-day 
is  agricultural  education.  The  national  government 
has  made  a  beginning.  There  are  state  schools  of 
agriculture  at  Sadovo  and  Rustchuk,  with  model 
farms  connected  with,  each,  and  a  school  of  horti- 
culture and  viticulture  at  Plevna ;  but  the  immediate 
need  could  be  met  by  the  organization  of  brief 
courses  in  agriculture  in  the  elementary  rural 
schools.  A  beginning  has  been  made  in  this  direc- 
tion in  a  few  villages,  and  the  subject  of  agriculture 
is  now  required  in  the  state  normal  school.  There 
is  a  national  agricultural  society;  a  journal  is  pub- 
lished devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  farm,  and  an 
attempt  has  been  made  to  publish  a  few  books,  treat- 
ing in  a  popular  and  elementary  style  practical  agri- 
cultural subjects. 

In  spite  of  the  mountainous  nature  of  the  coun- 
try, there  are  many  fine  tracts  of  farming  land  in 
Bulgaria,  and  the  peasants  make  excellent  farmers. 
They  are  attached  to  the  soil ;  they  have  enormous 
capacity  for  hard  work,  and  are  frugal  and  temper- 
ate in  their  habits.  The  rapidity  with  which  illit- 
eracy has  diminished  since  the  country  was  freed 
from  the  Turkish  yoke  indicates  their  desire  for 
education  and  their  capacity  for  training.  In  all 
these  qualities  they  are  unmistakably  superior  to 
the  same  class  of  workers  in  Greece,  Rumania,  and 

'  Banque  Agricole  de  Bulgarie  (Sofia,  1907)  and  Compte-Rendu  de 
la  Danque  Agricole  de  Bulgarie  (Sofia,  1912). 


Farms  and  Forests  295 

Servia.  Already  one  of  the  most  important  agri- 
cultural countries  in  the  Balkans,  with  the  right  sort 
of  agricultural  education,  of  an  elementary  and  sec- 
ondary sort,  Bulgaria  would  soon  outdistance  all  the 
other  states  in  the  peninsula. 

An  American,  who  knows  rather  intimately  the 
life  of  the  peasant  farmer,  writes:  *'  Bulgaria  is 
a  nation  constituted  almost  entirely  of  peasants,  and 
while  these  peasants  are  faithful  to  their  wives,  they 
do  not  show  them  affectionate  esteem  or  chivalrous 
regard.  At  a  youthful  age  they  marry  the  women 
selected  by  their  parents,  and  without  compunction 
permit  them  to  engage  in  the  roughest,  coarsest, 
most  disagreeable  out-door  work.  Under  such  cir- 
cumstances the  men  of  Bulgaria  have  come  to  look 
with  no  little  disdain  on  '  woman's  work.'  More- 
over, the  peasant  of  Bulgaria  is  extremely  unap- 
preciative,  or  if  he  does  appreciate  the  efforts  of 
others  he  is  marvellously  successful  in  concealing 
it.  Again  he,  like  the  people  in  many  rural  commu- 
nities, lives  in  a  small  world  and  is  largely  engaged 
in  looking  after  his  sheep,  making  his  butter  and 
cheese,  tending  his  crops,  and,  in  short,  in  fashion- 
ing him  a  dry  and  comfortable  place  —  T  have  not 
said  a  soft  and  easy  one  —  under  his  own  vine  and 
fig-tree.  He  spends  no  money  for  books  or  stere- 
oscopic views,  and  reads  the  newspaper  only  once  or 
twice  a  week.  His  tastes  are  sim])le  and  his  aspi- 
rations limited.  The  young  village  belles  would  not 
know  a  corset  from  a  coat  of  mail,  and  the  yoimg 
men  feel  much  more  fittingly  bedecked  when  their 
abdomen  is  copiously  encompassed  by  a  bright  red 


296  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

belt  two  feet  wide  and  twelve  feet  long  than  they 
would  if  an  immaculate  boiled  shirt  reflected  the 
resplendent  rays  of  shiny  stones  from  their  bosom. 
And  one  who  had  seen  the  human  species  bedecked 
in  both  habiliments  would  rather  hesitate  to  con- 
demn their  judgment. 

**  I  by  no  means  wish  to  belittle  the  worth  of  the 
Bulgarian  peasants.  They  are  farmers  with  the 
somewhat  magnified  defects  of  farmers.  They  have 
also  in  a  magnified  degree  the  virtues  of  farmers.. 
They  are  healthy,  strong,  industrious,  peaceable, 
reliable,  and  with  a  fortitude  and  endurance  beyond 
all  belief.  They  are  literate,  patriotic,  ready  to 
learn,  and  are  more  and  more  coming  in  touch  with 
the  great  movements  of  the  world.  They  own  their 
own  farms,  live  in  their  own  houses,  and  the  new 
machinery  which  they  are  continually  buying  be- 
longs to  them.  Their  youth  are  capable  and  ambi- 
tious, eager,  indeed  passionate,  for  an  education, 
and  very  progressive.  Still  the  great  bulk  of  the 
Bulgarian  nation  lives  in  little  uncouth  villages  more 
or  less  out  of  touch  with  the  trend  of  events,  and 
is  altogether  disinclined  to  support  Sunday  supple- 
ments or  a  swarm  of  illustrated  magazines." 

The  forests  of  Bulgaria  occupy  nearly  one-third 
of  the  area  of  the  country.  The  state  owns  one- 
third  of  the  forests,  communities  one-half,  and  re- 
ligious organizations  and  private  individuals  the 
remainder.  Bulgaria  possesses  a  great  variety  of 
deciduous  and  evergreen  trees,  those  in  the  former 
class  being  the  most  abundant :  oak,  beech,  common 
ash,  elm,  plane-tree,  lime,  mhIIow,   and  poplar  are 


Farms  and  Forests  297 

among  the  most  important  deciduous  trees,  and  the 
pines  and  firs  the  chief  evergreen  trees. 

When  Turkey  conquered  Bulgaria  more  than  five 
hundred  years  ago,  the  country  was  covered  with 
virgin  forests;  but  during  the  five  centuries  of 
Ottoman  rule  no  control  was  exercised  over  the 
destruction  of  the  forests,  and  no  measures  were 
taken  for  their  preservation.  Entire  liberty  was 
granted  to  the  people  to  pasture  their  flocks  and 
herds  in  the  forests,  and  the  right  to  cut  wood  upon 
the  payment  of  a  tax  liastened  the  deforestation  of 
the  country.  When  Bulgaria  won  her  freedom  in 
1878  tlie  forests  had  largely  disappeared. 

One  of  the  earliest  enactments  of  the  new  govern- 
ment (1878)  had  for  its  object  the  protection  of  the 
forests.  The  measure  provided  for  foresters,  pro- 
hibition of  the  export  of  wood,  and  regulations  with 
reference  to  forest  areas  that  might  be  felled.  But 
the  measure  met  with  obstinate  resistance  on  the 
part  of  the  peasants.  Subsequent  forestry  legis- 
lation by  the  national  assembly  did  not  prove  very 
efficacious. 

It  was  not  until  1890  that  the  government  was 
able  to  secure  the  passage  of  laws  that  were  really 
effective  in  preventing  the  deforestation  of  the  coun- 
try. A  survey  was  made  of  the  forest  lands  in  the 
kingdom;  nurseries  for  the  growth  of  young  trees 
were  started,  and  a  course  of  instruction  provided 
for  the  education  of  foresters.  Since  that  date  great 
progress  has  been  made  in  the  matter  of  preserving 
the  forests  already  in  existence  and  in  planting  vast 
areas  of  waste  land  with  young  trees. 


298  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Tlie  superiuteiidciice  of  the  forests  of  the  king- 
dom is  in  the  hands  of  the  ministry  of  agriculture. 
The  country  is  divided  into  forest  districts  under 
the  control  of  expert  foresters.  The  state  fells  the 
trees  in  its  own  forests  and  those  belonging  to  the 
communities,  and  regulates  the  conditions  under 
which  private  forests  may  be  felled.  The  right  of 
felling  is  disposed  of  by  auction  or  sold  in  the  form 
of  a  concession.  The  proceeds  go  to  the  national 
government,  but  all  the  revenues  from  the  forests 
of  villages  are  used  for  the  development  of  the  for- 
estry interests  of  the  particular  communities  from 
which  the  revenues  come. 

Communities  situated  in  forests  are  obliged  to 
afforest  forty-five  per  cent,  of  their  land;  villages 
near  forests,  twenty-five  i3er  cent.,  and  those  in  the 
open  country,  six  per  cent.  Many  communities  fall- 
ing short  of  these  requirements  have  been  active  in 
recent  years  in  the  work  of  tree-planting.  The  fact 
that  the  soil  of  the  country  is  rich  in  vegetable  mat- 
ter, young  trees  take  root  easily  and  grow  vigor- 
ously. The  forests  are  patrolled  by  special  officials, 
those  in  state  and  parish  forests  being  paid  by  the 
national  government,  but  owners  of  private  forests 
are  required  to  pay  their  own  keepers.  In  spite  of 
the  vigilance  of  the  keepers,  much  damage  is  done 
to  the  forests  by  sheep  and  cattle,  by  fires,  and  by 
the  theft  of  the  peasants. 

The  finest  forests  of  large  trees  are  on  the  most 
inaccessible  heights  of  the  Rilo,  the  Rhodopes,  the 
Sredna  Gora,  and  the  Stara  Planina  (Balkans). 
The  forests  belonging  to  the  Kilo  monastery  are 


Farms  and  Forests  299 

especially  valuable,  and  include  the  most  valuable 
coniferous  areas  in  the  kingdom.  The  best  beech 
forests  are  in  the  region  of  Berkovitza,  Vratza, 
Teteven,  Klissura,  and  Staro  Novo  Selo.  The  best 
ash  and  elm  forests  are  found  along  the  Kamtchia 
river  from  Longosa  to  the  Black  sea.  Bulgarian 
wood  is  distinguished  by  its  numerous  annual  rings, 
its  bright  colours,  and  its  relative  flexibility. 

Bulgaria  exports  considerable  quantities  of  hard 
wood  and  imports  soft  wood.  Wliile  the  export 
trade  has  steadily  increased  since  the  government 
took  charge  of  tlie  matter  of  the  forests,  there  has 
been  a  marked  decrease  in  the  import  trade.  The 
export  of  forest  products  is  chiefly  to  Turkey,  and 
the  imports  come  from  Austria-Bohemia-Hungary. 


CHAPTER   XXI 

INDUSTRY    AND    TRADE 

Handicrafts  —  Decline  in  home  industries  —  Textile  industries  at 
Sliven  and  Gabrovo  — ■  Silk-spinning  at  Tirnovo  —  Saw  mills  — 
Social  and  economical  evils  at  the  industrial  centres  —  Legislative 
labour  restrictions  —  Encouragement  of  industry  by  the  national 
government  —  Special  concessions  —  Mineral  resources  and  mi- 
ning —  Numerous  mineral  springs  in  Bulgaria  —  Commerce  — 
Its  rapid  growth  —  Exports  and  imports  —  Chief  trading  towns  — 
Railways  and  highways  —  System  of  measurements  —  The  Bul- 
garian National  Bank. 

Up  to  the  time  of  emancipation  from  Turkish  rule, 
the  industries  of  Bulgaria  were  limited  to  handi- 
crafts, most  of  which  were  carried  on  in  the  homes. 
Weaving  is  the  oldest  of  the  home  industries,  and 
from  the  earliest  times  down  to  1878  it  was  widely 
spread  in  the  country.  Quantities  of  wool  were 
produced  and  woven  into  coarse  cloth,  carpets, 
braids,  and  the  like.  Bulgarian  woollen  cloth  was 
held  in  high  esteem  and  was  in  constant  demand  not 
only  in  the  Turkish  empire  but  in  Crreece,  Austria, 
and  other  countries.  The  cloth  for  the  uniforms  of 
the  Ottoman  army  was  entirely  woven  in  Bulgaria. 
There  were  2,500  weaving-sheds  for  coarse  cloth  at 
Stara  Zagora  and  700  at  Pirdop  at  the  time  of  eman- 
cipation. 

Since  1878  there  has  been  marked  decline  in  the 
home  industries  of  the  country;  and  they  retain 
their  original  character  only  in  the  more  remote 
villages.    With  the  freedom  from  Turkish  rule  large 

300 


Industry  and  Trade  301 

estates  were  divided  and  the  large  patriarchal 
homes  began  to  disappear.  The  population  for- 
merly was  in  villages  and  small  towns.  In  recent 
years  there  has  been  marked  growth  in  the  popu- 
lation of  large  towns  and  cities.  Before  1878  there 
were  no  railways  and  few  public  roads;  and,  in 
consequence,  little  or  no  commercial  intercourse.  In 
conformity  with  the  spirit  of  the  constitution  of 
the  rejuvenated  kingdom,  Bulgaria  was  declared 
open  for  trading  purposes  with  foreign  countries, 
railways  were  constructed,  and  the  foreign  products 
brought  to  the  country  modified  markedly  both  the 
social  and  the  industrial  life  of  the  people. 

The  textile  industries  are  largely  concentrated  in 
Sliven  and  Gabrovo.  Less  important  centres  are 
Samokov,  Karlovo,  Kazanlik,  and  Kotel.  Besides 
the  fifty-seven  large  textile  factories  in  Bulgaria, 
there  are  seventy-nine  factories  engaged  in  the  prep- 
aration of  food  and  drinks ;  twenty  factories  en- 
gaged with  the  manufacture  of  leather  and  leather 
products;  fourteen  chemical  plants;  nine  devoted 
to  the  manufacture  of  wood  and  furniture;  seven 
to  metal  wares;  and  various  other  industries  are 
followed.  The  industrial  development  has  been 
most  rapid  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  country. 

Silk-spinning  has  recently  become  an  important 
industry  at  Tirnovo;  work  in  leather  at  Shumen; 
brewing  and  distilling  liquor  from  plums  at  Slivo- 
vitsa;  sugar  at  Sofia;  copper  wares  at  Stara  Za- 
gora;  and  pottery  and  porcelain  at  Rustchuk  and 
Trn.  An  excellent  beginning  has  been  made  in 
native  ceramics  of  a  high  order  of  artistic  merit  in 


302  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 


tlic  art  school  of  Sofia.  This  is  an  industry  that 
might  yield  large  returns  to  the  country  if  encour- 
aged hj  the  national  government. 

There  are  many  saw-mills  in  the  central  section 
of  the  Rhodope  mountains.  Primitive  machinery  is 
worked  by  water-power.  The  boards  and  planks  are 
transported  on  the  backs  of  mules  to  the  coast  ports. 
One  of  the  interesting  sights  of  mountain  travel  is 
the  caravan  of  mules  laden  with  lumber  slowly  \vend- 
ing  down  the  steep  and  tortuous  mountain  trails. 
The  finest  logs  are  found  in  the  forests  at  the  source 
of  the  Metsa  river.  The  chief  timbers  are  Scotch 
firs,  oak,  birch,  larch,  and  juniper.  The  firs  are 
chiefly  manufactured  into  railway  ties,  and  a  resin 
is  extracted  from  the  waste  parts  of  the  trees. 

The  decline  in  handicrafts,  with  the  rapid  increase 
in  taxation  for  the  development  of  the  new  govern- 
ment, brought  distress  to  the  peasant  artisans  and 
farmers.  They  found  it  quite  impossible  to  compete 
with  the  cheap  machine-made  goods  imported  from 
Austria-Hungary.  The  government  attempted  by 
means  of  tariff  measures  to  protect  the  peasant 
industries,  but  such  artificial  measures  proved  un- 
availing. 

It  was  soon  discovered  that  the  industries  of  the 
country  could  no  longer  be  carried  on  in  a  primitive 
fashion,  and  that  the  hand  lal)our  must  in  a  large 
measure  be  replaced  by  machines.  In  consequence 
the  old  industrial  regime  has  gradually  been  trans- 
formed during  the  past  twenty  years.  New  methods 
of  production  have  been  introduced ;  the  mountain 
streams   have   been   utilized   for   powder   purposes; 


Industry  and  Trade  303 

industries  have  been  centralized  in  the  towns ;    and 
foreign  capital  has  been  brought  to  the  country. 

Tlie  new  industrial  development,  however,  has 
brought  in  its  train  not  a  few  social  and  economic 
evnls.  The  working  hours  have  been  lengthened  and 
the  wages  of  the  workmen  decreased;  large  num- 
bers of  women  and  children  have  entered  into  com- 
petition with  men  as  wage-earners.  In  the  days  of 
the  peasant  industries  the  workers  spent  a  part  of 
the  year  in  the  fields;  to-day  they  live  in  towns  and 
are  confined  to  the  direction  of  machines  in  factories 
that  leave  much  to  be  desired  from  the  standpoint 
of  sanitation. 

Since  1905  the  government  has  seen  the  necessity 
of  making  some  legislative  restrictions  to  meet  the 
growing  social  ills  of  the  new  industrial  develop- 
ment. Laws  have  been  passed  regulating  the  em- 
ployment of  women  and  cliildren,  making  provision 
for  the  inspection  of  sanitary  conditions  in  factories, 
and  the  establishment  of  funds  for  the  insurance  of 
factory  workers.  Children  under  twelve  years  of 
age  cannot  be  employed  in  factories  and  workshops; 
children  under  fifteen  and  women  under  twenty-one 
cannot  be  employed  in  mines,  quarries,  or  other 
subterranean  industries.  Workers  of  either  sex 
under  the  age  of  eighteen  are  not  allowed  in  fac- 
tories "where  the  work  is  specially  deleterious  to 
health.  The  woi'king  day  for  children  under  the 
age  of  fifteen  is  eight  hoiu's,  and  for  women,  ten 
hours.  WomoTi  and  children  must  be  given  a  period 
for  rest  after  five  consecutive  working  hours. 
Niirht  work  is  foi'bidden  to  women  and  to  children 


304  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

under  fifteen,  and  they  are  not  allowed  to  work  more 
than  six  days  a  week.  This  law,  however,  does  not 
include  the  workers  in  home  industries. 

With  a  view  to  the  encouragement  of  local  indus- 
tries and  the  attraction  of  foreign  capital,  the  law 
of  1905  grants  the  following  general  privileges  to 
all  industrial  enterprises :  The  use  of  water-power 
without  payment,  where  this  is  not  on  private  prop- 
erty; exemption  from  customs  duties  for  such  ma- 
chines and  parts  of  machines  needful  for  the  install- 
ation of  industrial  plants;  exemption  from  customs 
duties  for  raw  material,  when  it  is  imported  in  order 
to  be  exported  again,  after  having  been  worked  up; 
free  grant  of  land  belonging  to  the  state  or  local 
community  for  the  erection  of  factories,  the  land 
granted  to  be  determined  by  the  needs  of  the  enter- 
prise, but  in  no  case  to  exceed  nine  acres ;  machin- 
ery, tools,  and  fuel  to  be  carried  by  the  state  rail- 
ways at  a  rate  35  per  cent,  below  the  lowest  usual 
charge  for  such  commodities.  Public  institutions 
are  compelled  to  buy  from  home  manufacturers, 
even  though  native  commodities  may  be  dearer  (up 
to  15  per  cent.)  than  similar  articles  manufactured 
abroad. 

The  enjoyment  of  special  privileges  is  reserved 
for  certain  enterprises  of  at  least  five  horse-power, 
employing  at  least  fifteen  workers  for  not  less  than 
six  months  a  year,  and  with  an  investment  in  indus- 
trial plant  of  not  less  than  $4,000.  The  specially 
favoured  enterprises  are  sugar  and  sugar  products ; 
the  spinning  and  weaving  of  wool,  cotton,  silk,  hemp, 
and  jute;  manufacture  of  pottery,  water-pipes,  and 


Industry  and  Trade  305 

brick ;  construction  of  vehicles ;  mining  and  cutting 
of  marble,  granite,  and  metals ;  milling  of  flour  and 
preparation  of  foods ;  wood,  paper,  iron,  glass,  and 
chemical  industries ;  tanneries  and  dye  works ;  beer- 
brewing  and  the  distillation  of  alcohol;  silk- worm 
culture,  and  the  installation  of  electric  plants  for 
motor-power.  The  special  privileges  enjoyed  by 
these  favoured  industrial  enterprises  include  ex- 
emption from  customs  duties  for  raw  or  partially 
wrought  material,  if  such  material  cannot  be  ob- 
tained in  the  country;  exemption  from  land  tax, 
patent  duties,  and  stamp  taxes;  coal  needed  for 
such  enterprises  may  be  obtained  from  the  state 
mines  at  reduced  rates;  free  use  of  state  land  to 
obtain  stone,  sand,  gravel,  clay,  and  other  materials 
for  purposes  of  building  and  manufacture,  and  the 
transportation  of  raw  materials,  things  needed  for 
the  construction  and  equipment  of  factories,  and 
manufactured  products  over  state  railways  at  a 
reduction  of  35  per  cent,  of  the  usual  tariff. 

Formerly  the  government  gave  exclusive  rights 
of  manufacture  of  certain  commodities  in  definite 
districts  for  periods  of  thirty  years;  but  such  con- 
cessions are  now  rarely  made.  In  recent  years  the 
national  government  has  attempted  to  regulate 
trade  organizations  and  professional  associations. 
No  one  can  practise  a  trade  without  possessing  a 
certificate  granted  by  the  syndic  of  his  guild,  after 
he  has  given  proof  of  knowledge  of  and  training 
in  the  trade  he  proposes  to  follow.  One  of  the 
avowed  objects  of  this  law  is  the  improvement  in 
handicrafts  by  the  foundation  of  vocational  schools, 


306  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

tbc  establisliment  of  industrial  museums,  and  the  or- 
ganization of  exhibits.  The  government  has  estab- 
lished a  vocational  school  at  Trn  for  training  in 
the  manufacture  of  Oriental  rugs  and  carpets,  and 
schools  for  training  in  woodwork  at  Koprivitza  and 
Etropole. 

Very  little  has  been  done  as  yet  to  develop  the 
mineral  resources  of  the  country.  While  the  mines 
of  Bulgaria  were  of  considerable  consequence  in 
ancient  times,  they  were  largely  abandoned  after  the 
Turkish  occupation.  Eccent  researches  in  the  re- 
gion of  Vratza,  Sliven,  and  Burgas  have  brought 
to  light  pits,  galleries,  slag  and  other  evidences  of 
the  mining  of  copper,  lead,  and  zinc  by  the  Romans. 

To  except  the  mines  at  Samokov,  no  mining  op- 
erations were  carried  on  after  the  coming  of  the 
Turks.  At  Samokov  iron  was  obtained  from  mag- 
netite ore  found  in  the  Vitosh  mountains  and  smelted 
in  charcoal  furnaces.  The  industry  survived  the 
five  centuries  of  Ottoman  rule;  but  with  the  fall  in 
the  price  of  iron,  due  to  tlie  development  of  railways, 
it  was  not  found  profitable  to  continue  the  iron  in- 
dustry at  Samokov. 

In  1879  the  government  opened  a  coal  mine  at 
Moehino  which  yields  a  moderate  quality  of  brown 
coal  (lignite).  Twelve  years  later  another  coal  mine 
was  opened  at  Pernik,  and  more  recently  coal  has 
been  discovered  in  the  districts  of  Gabrovo,  Stara 
Zagora,  Sliven,  and  Lom.  All  the  coal  mines  are 
the  property  of  the  state. 

Copper  is  being  mined  in  the  provinces  of  Vratza 
and  Burgas,  manganese  in  the  districts  about  Varna 


Industry  and  Trade  307 

and  Yamboli,  and  lead  in  the  provinces  of  Trn  and 
Kustendil.  Excellent  potter's  clay  is  found  at  Tor- 
lak,  lime-stone  at  Lovotch,  and  litlio^rapliic  stone 
at  Ncgoclievo.  Several  kinds  of  granite  occur  in 
quantities  at  Dubnitza  and  Kustendil,  marble  in 
the  districts  of  Kazanlik  and  Vratza,  brown  build- 
iiig-stone  in  the  districts  about  Kustchuk  and  Vratza, 
and  a  beautiful  serpentine  comes  from  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Philippopolis. 

Bulgaria  has  more  than  two  hundred  mineral 
springs.  A  few  of  them  arc  operated  by  the  state 
and  a  few  by  municipalities,  but  most  of  them  are 
undeveloped.  The  mational  government  has  taken 
charge  of  the  hot  mineral  springs  at  Meritschleri, 
Banki,  Varshetz,  and  Ilissar.  Buildings  have  been 
erected  and  attempts  have  been  made  to  convert 
these  places  into  pleasure  and  health  resorts.  There 
are  twenty-three  hot  mineral  sjjrings  in  the  innnedi- 
ate  vicinity  of  Sofia.  Over  the  one  in  the  heart  of 
the  capital  the  municiy)al  government  has  erected  a 
handsome  public  bath  at  a  cost  of  one  million  five 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  water  as  it  comes 
from  the  earth  has  a  temperature  of  84  degrees 
Fahrenheit.  At  Dolnia  Bania,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Sofia,  the  temperature  of  the  water  is  110  degrees 
Fahrenheit.  The  baths  at  Ilissar,  near  Philippop- 
olis, are  celebrated  through  the  East.  There  arc 
several  hot  mineral  springs  in  the  heart  of  the  Kho- 
dope  mountains.  The  waters  of  the  hot  springs  at 
Meritschleri  have  many  of  the  reputed  medicinal 
virtues  of  the  famous  Karlsbad  waters  in  Bohemia. 
The  hottest  spring  in  Bulgaria  is  at  Bania,  near 


308  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Dubnitza.  Tlie  temperature  of  the  water  is  148 
degrees  Fahrenheit.  With  the  development  of  rail- 
way ajid  hotel  facilities,  the  hot  mineral  springs  of 
Bulgaria  might  easily  attract  large  numbers  of  tour- 
ists from  western  Europe  and  America. 

There  has  been  enormous  growth  in  the  volume 
of  the  commerce  of  Bulgaria  during  the  last  dozen 
years.  Two  years  after  emancipation  (1880)  the 
combined  imports  and  exports  amounted  to  $16,- 
268,368;  in  1912  they  reached  $65,397,800.  The 
chief  imports  are  cotton  and  cotton  cloth,  iron,  ma- 
chinery and  farming  implements,  lumber  and  build- 
ing materials,  hides,  skins^  and  leather.  Bulgaria 
imports  more  from  Austria-Bohemia-Hungary  than 
from  any  other  country.  The  other  nations  that 
rank  high  in  the  matter  of  imports  are,  in  the  order 
of  importance,  Germany,  Great  Britain,  France, 
Turkey,  and  Belgium.  From  1900  to  1908  the  value 
of  the  exports  exceeded  the  imports,  but  since  that 
date  the  imports  have  been  in  excess  of  the  exports. 

Thirty-seven  per  cent,  of  the  imports  enter  the 
country  through  the  seaports  at  Varna  and  Burgas, 
the  former  being  much  in  the  lead.  Many  of  the 
imports  that  entered  the  country  by  rail  from  Sa- 
lonika, when  that  port  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Turks, 
wuU  now  enter  by  the  new  Bulgarian  seaports  on 
the  ^gean  sea  at  Dede  Agatch  and  Porto  Lagos. 
Twenty-seven  per  cent,  of  the  imports  enter  the 
country  through  river  ports  on  the  Danube.  The 
important  river  ports  are  Rustchuk,  Svishtov,  Sa- 
movit,  Vidin,  and  Orehovo,  the  first  being  the  most 
important.     Importation  by   land   and   railway  is 


Industry  and  Trade  309 

principally  made  through  the  customs  houses  at 
Sofia,  Philippopolis,  and  Harmanly. 

The  chief  articles  of  export  are  wheat,  maize,  live- 
stock, silk  cocoons,  hides,  attar  of  roses,  tobacco, 
and  fruit.  Belgium  is  the  largest  purchaser  of  Bul- 
garian products;  Turkey  ranks  second;  Great  Brit- 
ain, third;  Germany,  fourth;  Greece,  fifth;  and 
France,  sixth.  Forty-six  per  cent,  of  the  exports 
are  by  sea  and  twenty-seven  per  cent,  each  by  lan'l 
and  river  ports. 

Bulgaria  has  twelve  hundred  miles  of  railway 
constructed  by  the  state  at  a  cost  of  fifty  million 
dollars.  Two  hundred  miles  of  railway  are  now 
in  course  of  construction.  A  new  line,  one  hundred 
ten  miles  in  length,  is  soon  to  be  constructed  from 
the  Maritza  valley  to  Porto  Lagos  on  the  ^-Egean 
sea.  The  line  will  start  at  Kayadjik  in  the  district 
of  Philippopolis,  pass  near  Ilaskovo,  and  cross  the 
Rhodope  mountains  to  the  valley  of  the  Arda.  It 
will  cost  five  million  dollars,  and  about  four  years 
will  be  required  for  its  construction. 

In  addition  to  the  main  railway  line  that  connects 
Sofia  with  Europe  and  Turkey,  there  is  another  line 
that  traverses  the  entire  length  of  the  country  from 
Kustendil  to  Varna,  which  also  passes  through  the 
capital.  There  are  a  half-dozen  branches  that  con- 
nect Danube  river  ports  with  the  latter  line;  also 
a  branch  from  Philippopolis  through  Stara  Zagora, 
Tirnovo,  and  Rustchuk,  connecting  this  line  with  the 
transcontinental  line.  Rustchuk  is  connected  with 
Varna  on  the  Black  sea,  and  there  is  a  line  from 
Stara  Zagora  that  connects  with  Burgas,  the  other 


310  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Black  sea  port.  The  recently  completed  line  be- 
tween Stara  Zagora  and  Tirnovo  through  the  Bal- 
kan mountains  was  constructed  at  enormous  cost 
and  required  great  engineering  skill.  A  line  is  con- 
templated from  Sofia  to  Sliven  that  will  pass 
through  Karlovo  and  Kazanlik  and  the  numerous 
villages  in  the  rose  valleys  between  the  Balkan 
mountains  and  the  Sredna  Gora.  The  railway  lines 
of  Bulgaria  are  government  property  and  are  op- 
erated by  the  state.  In  spite  of  the  enormous  cost 
of  construction  and  the  relatively  large  cost  of 
operation,  the  state  railways  of  Bulgaria  yield  a 
net  annual  revenue  of  about  two  and  one-fourth 
per  cent. 

The  construction  and  maintenance  of  railways  and 
public  highways  are  under  the  direction  of  the  min- 
istry of  public  works,  roads,  and  communications. 
There  has  been  great  development  in  the  matter  of 
public  roads  as  w^ell  as  railways  during  the  past 
twentj-five  years.  As  the  country  is  very  mountain- 
ous, the  roads  crossing  the  Balkans  and  the  Rho- 
dopes  have  been  constructed  at  enormous  cost.  The 
new  highway  that  crosses  the  Rilo  mountains  near 
Samokov  is  one  of  the  finest  and  best  built  mountain 
roads  in  Europe. 

The  metric  system  has  been  officially  adopted  for 
Bulgaria,  although  the  old  Turkish  measures  are 
still  considerably  used  in  local  trade.  The  Bulgarian 
monetary  system  is  based  on  the  double  standard 
of  gold  and  silver.  The  unit  is  the  lev,  nominally 
of  the  value  of  a  franc  (twenty  cents  in  American 
money),  with  its  multiple  of  one  hundred  stotiuki 


Industry  and  Trade  311 

to  a  lev.  For  some  years  after  the  creation  of  tlio 
Idngdom  the  government  tolerated  the  circulation 
of  foreign  money,  but  the  country  was  flooded  with 
foreign  coins;  and  in  18S7  a  law  w^as  passed  pro- 
hibiting the  circulation  of  Servian,  Rumanian,  and 
Russian  coins.  The  coinage  of  Bulgarian  money 
is  in  nickel,  copper,  silver,  and  gold,  there  being 
very  little  of  the  latter.  The  gold  coins  comprise 
pieces  of  one  hundred,  twenty,  and  ten  levs;  the 
silver  of  five,  two,  and  one  lev ;  and  the  copper  and 
nickel  pieces  of  twenty,  ten,  five,  two,  and  one  sto- 
tinka.  The  gold  coins  of  the  Latin  monetary  union 
are  received  at  their  nominal  value. 

The  Bulgarian  National  Bank  is  a  state  institu- 
tion. It  enjoys  the  exclusive  privilege  of  issuing 
bank  notes,  up  to  the  triple  of  its  capital  and  reserve 
fund,  provided  it  has  in  its  vaults  bullion  at  least 
one-third  of  the  value  of  the  bank  notes  in  circula- 
tion. Sev(Mi  series  of  bank  notes  are  in  circulation, 
five,  ten,  twenty,  and  one  hundred  lev  notes  in  gold, 
and  five,  ten,  and  fifty  lev  notes  in  silver. 

The  Bulgarian  National  Bank  is  located  at  Sofia, 
with  branches  at  Rustchuk,  Varna,  Philippopolis, 
Tirnovo,  and  Burgas,  rtnd  agencies  at  Vidin,  Plevna, 
Svishtov,  and  Sliven.  Branches  of  the  Bulgarian 
Agricultural  Bank  act  as  correspondents  of  the  Bul- 
garian National  Bank  in  the  smaller  towns.  The 
administration  of  the  National  Bank  is  vested  in  a 
council  appointed  by  the  king,  and  consists  of  a 
governor  and  four  administrators.  The  manage- 
ment of  the  branches  is  in  the  hands  of  boards  of 
directors  appointed  by  the  king. 


312  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

The  Bulgarian  National  Bank  accepts  deposits 
from  public  institutions  and  private  persons;  it 
advances  loans  secured  by  mortgages  to  individuals, 
provinces,  and  communities ;  grants  loans  on  goods 
and  bills  of  lading;  discounts  and  collects  commer- 
cial bills;  handles  letters  of  credit;  accepts  on 
deposit  all  kinds  of  securities;  receives  the  state 
revenues;  and  etfects  governmental  payments  to 
the  extent  of  these  revenues.  The  profits  are  dis- 
tributed as  follows:  ten  per  cent,  to  the  reserve 
fund,  three  per  cent,  as  premiums  to  the  bank  offi- 
cials, and  eighty-seven  per  cent,  to  the  national  gov- 
ernment.   The  bank  pays  interest  on  deposits. 


CHAPTER   XXII 

QUEEN    ELEANORA    AND    PHILANTHROPY 

The  Orthodox  church  not  directly  identified  with  philanthropic  move- 
ments —  Indifference  of  the  clerpiy  —  Queen  Eieanora  at  the  head 
of  philanthropic  projects  —  The  Florence  Nightingale  of  the  Russo- 
Turkish  war  —  Her  services  in  the  two  Balkan  wars  —  Tribute 
of  Miss  Abbott  —  Pen  picture  by  Professor  Markham  —  The  Clem- 
entine hospital  and  its  needs  —  Dearth  of  orphanages  in  Bulgaria. 

In  the  chapter  on  religion  in  Bulgaria  attention 
is  called  to  the  fact  that  the  Orthodox  church  does 
not  concern  itself  with  humanitarian  movements 
which  form  such  important  features  of  the  activities 
of  the  Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic  churches  in 
America  and  Europe.  The  spirit  of  mercy  and  love, 
if  it  ever  formed  a  part  of  eastern  Christianity  has 
very  largely,  if  not  quite  entirely,  disappeared. 
There  is  in  consequence  little  or  no  recognition  of 
any  duty  to  the  poor  and  the  sick  and  other  unfor- 
tunate classes  of  society. 

Europeans  who  have  worked  in  the  hospitals  in 
the  Balkan  peninsula  have  noted  the  manifest  in- 
difference of  the  Orthodox  clergy  towards  the  sick 
and  the  wounded.  A  foreigner  who  serv(^l  as  a 
nurse  in  one  of  the  Balkan  wars  related  to  the  au- 
thor the  fact  that  there  was  an  Orthodox  priest 
connected  with  his  contingent  of  the  army,  but  that 
he  never  visited  the  suffering  soldiers  unless  called 
upon  to  render  official  service.  If  patients  wished 
to  confess,  he  was  always  ready  to  hear  their  con- 

313 


314  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

fessions.  If  they  died,  he  was  on  hand  to  conduct 
the  burial  service.  But  he  seldom,  if  ever,  visited 
the  hospital  voluntarily  to  offer  religious  consola- 
tion or  render  humanitarian  aid. 

Mr.  Brailsford,  who  was  in  active  service  in  Mace- 
donia in  connection  with  the  British  Relief  Fund 
after  the  massacres  of  1903-1904,  writes  in  the  same 
strain:  "  Both  at  Ochrida  and  Castoria  we  made 
several  vain  attempts  to  induce  the  Bulgarian  clergy 
tO'  visit  tlie  sick  and  wounded  in  our  hospitals,  to 
bring  them  some  spiritual  consolation,  to  read  aloud 
to  them,  and  at  all  events  to  cheer  them  with  a  kindly 
human  word.  But  evidently  ministrations  of  this 
sort  do  not  enter  into  the  eastern  ideals  of  Chris- 
tianity. The  only  concern  the  clergy  displayed  in 
our  patients  was  a  very  keen  anxiety  lest  we  should 
encourage  these  miserable  creatures,  in  need  of 
every  attention  and  nourishment,  to  break  the  ter- 
ribly severe  fasts  which  the  Orthodox  church  im- 
poses for  thirty  days  before  Christmas  as  well  as 
during  Lent."  ^ 

Philanthropic  movements,  so  far  as  they  exist  at 
all  in  Bulgaria  are  connected  with  the  state,  munic- 
ipal organizations  of  a  lay  character,  the  missions 
of  the  Protestant  and  Catholic  churches,  and  the 
royal  family.  Queen  Eleanora  is  really  the  moving 
spirit  in  most  of  that  which  is  best  in  the  national 
philanthropy.  She  is  at  the  head  of  the  Red  Cross 
movement  in  Bulgaria;  she  has  been  the  leader  in 
the  movement  for  the  reorganization  of  hospitals; 

'  Macedonia:  itn  Races  and  their  Future.  By  Henry  Noel  Brails- 
ford.     London,  19()G,  pp.  340. 


Ul    I'.KN     ELKA.NOliA     AS    A     W  A  K    M   li.sE. 


Queen  Eleanora  and  Philanthropy      315 

she  has  taken  the  initiative  in  the  matter  of  the 
organization  of  special  schools  for  defective,  de- 
pendent, and  delinqnent  children,  and  most  of  the 
other  agencies  in  tlie  kingdom  tliat  represent  awa- 
kened social  consciousness  and  rational  cooperation. 
Queen  Eleanora  is  of  the  German  house  of  Reuss- 
Kostritz;  she  is  a  Protestant;  she  served  as  a 
nurse  in  the  Russo-Japanese  war,  and  was  acclaimed 
a  Florence  Nightingale  on  the  blood-stained  plains 
of  Manchuria.  Iler  marriage  with  King  Ferdinand 
took  place  the  28th  of  February,  1908.  Miss  Inez  L. 
Abbott,  principal  of  the  American  School  for  Girls 
at  Samokov,  writes  of  the  queen:  "  Her  Majesty, 
Queen  Eleanora  of  Bulgaria,  the  royal  nurse  of 
Europe,  is  one  of  tlie  world's  great  philanthropists. 
That  she  has  a  heart  of  tender  sympathy  that  goes 
out  in  a  most  practical  way  to  every  form  of  suffer- 
ing known  to  her,  there  has  been  abundant  evidence 
throughout  lier  life.  In  her  girlhood  days  near 
Vienna  she  received  instruction  in  the  rudiments  of 
medicine-making  from  an  old  priest,  and  with  the 
knowledge  thus  acquired  she  relieved  the  sufferings 
of  many  sick  people  wlio  came  to  her  from  miles 
around.  A  little  later  the  establishing  of  a  hospital 
in  the  woods  near  Vienna  for  children  wdio  were  the 
victims  of  rickets ;  the  opening  of  day  nurseries  for 
the  care  of  the  babies  of  working  women,  and  the 
formation  of  an  organization  for  nurses  —  all  these 
philanthropic  agencies  were  the  result  of  the  initia- 
tive of  the  queen.  These  organizations  are  still 
in  existence  and  they  are  still  maintained  by  her 
majesty. 


316  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

*'  The  regular  training  course  for  nurses,  wliich. 
slic  took  in  her  young  womanhood,  fitted  her  to  be- 
come the  Florence  Nightingale  of  the  Russo-Japan- 
ese war.  It  followed  naturalh^  that  in  1908,  when  she 
became  the  first  lady  of  Bulgaria,  that  the  kind  of 
work  to  which  her  life  had  been  devoted  should  con- 
tinue to  be  lier  supreme  interest.  Tlie  erection  of 
a  new  building  for  the  blind  and  deaf  in  Sofia ;  the 
establishment  of  a  brush  factory  in  the  same  city 
where  these  unfortunates  may  find  employment;  the 
founding  of  a  sanitarium  for  tubercular  children  on 
the  shores  of  the  Black  sea;  the  reorganization  of 
the  hospitals,  and  the  organization  of  the  Good 
Samaritan  Society,  under  whose  direction  nearly 
five  hundred  women  have  received  a  six  months' 
training  course  in  first  aid  to  the  injured,  indicate 
the  line  of  her  majesty's  activities  in  the  land  of 
her  ado])tion. 

^'  It  was,  however,  during  the  Balkan  wars  that 
the  queen  has  done  the  best  work  of  lier  life.  The 
establishment  and  direction  of  military  hospitals  at 
her  own  expense;  the  services  of  competent  sur- 
geons and  nurses  that  she  was  able  to  secure;  vis- 
itation of  the  wounded  on  the  fields  of  battle;  ex- 
penditure of  money  for  the  relief  of  needy  women 
in  poor  mountain  districts,  whose  husbands  were  in 
the  wars;  personal  care  of  thousands  of  refugees 
from  Macedonia ;  and  a  thousand  and  one  other 
ministrations  of  mercy  have  filled  to  overflowing  the 
hours  of  Eleanora  the  Good  and  justly  won  for  her 
first  rank  among  the  world's  great  philanthropists." 
The  author  bears  mlling  witness  to  the  tribute 


Queen  Eleanora  and  Philanthropy      317 

of  Miss  Abbott.  The  enTicient  and  continuous  serv- 
ice of  the  queen  during  the  second  Balkan  war  was 
a  matter  of  surprise  to  every  foreign  resident  in  the 
kingdom.  She  gave  evidence  of  not  only  great 
energ}^  but  remarkable  knowledge  and  skill  in  the 
matter  of  hospital  work  and  the  care  of  sick  and 
wounded  soldiers.  Professor  Markham,  who  is  con- 
nected with  llie  American  Institute  at  Samokov, 
writes  of  Queen  Eleanora:  "  Ilcr  manners  are  full 
of  grace  and  elegance,  and  her  general  attitude  is 
very  dignified  and  serious;  yet  she  never  fails  to 
put  those  about  her  at  tlieir  ease,  to  charm  them 
with  her  genial  spirit,  her  simplicity,  her  extreme 
freedom  from  ostentation,  and  her  interest  in  com- 
mon things  and  common  people.  No  one  for  a 
moment  would  venture  to  encroach  upon  her  dig- 
nity, and  yet  one  feels  that  if  she  were  his  neigh- 
bour he  really  wouldn't  hesitate  to  ask  her  what 
to  do  when  the  baby  got  sick  or  to  seek  her  opinion 
as  to  which  gown  would  be  most  suitable  to  wear 
at  the  president's  reception.  When  one  has  the 
honour  of  meeting  her  he  rejoices  that  Bulgaria  has 
such  a  handsome,  shapely,  aud  stately  queen;  but 
a  still  stronger  emotion  is  his  wish  that  he  might 
have  for  a  friend  and  counsellor  just  such  a  wise, 
thoughtful,  and  sjanpathetic  person  as  she  is.  Her 
majesty  combines  to  an  unusual  degree  those  two 
qualities  which  we  so  much  admire  in  our  American 
women,  seriousness  and  unimpeachable  dignity  on 
the  one  hand,  together  with  simplicity,  sympathy, 
spontancousness  and  a  spirit  of  democracy  on  the 
other. 


318  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

"  It  is  a  common  sajang  in  Bulgaria,  and  unfor- 
tunately one  well  substantiated  by  facts,  that  a 
^  second  mother  '  is  a  cause  of  pain  and  trouble. 
Queen  Eleanora  is  a  most  pleasing  exception  to  this 
rule.  She  is  a  second  mother  to  four  vigorous  and 
promising  children  and  to  a  whole  nation  of  strange 
people,  yet  she  is  esteemed  and  loved  by  them  all. 
Her  majesty  is  a  woman  of  extraordinary  ability 
and  the  highest  culture.  She  speaks  English,  Ger- 
man, French,  Russian,  and  Bulgarian  fluently.  Her 
tastes  whether  in  clothes  or  scenery  or  in  the  dec- 
orating of  a  house  invariably  reveal  most  excellent 
judgment.  She  dresses  simply  but  most  becomingly. 
Her  appearance  on  all  public  occasions  is  stately 
and  impressive.  Her  powers  of  conversation,  of 
expressing  herself  in  incisive  original  sentences, 
are  brilliant.  She  is  fond  of  horses  and  enjoys  out- 
of-door  life.  Through  the  latest  books  and  the 
standard  magazines  in  three  chief  languages  of 
Europe  she  keeps  in  close  touch  with  the  modern 
world. 

"  During  the  years  of  her  young  womanhood  she 
spent  a  great  deal  of  time  in  Russia,  where  she  has 
not  a  few  relatives  with  royal  connections.  "While 
there  she  took  a  course  of  training  in  the  nursing 
of  surgical  and  infectious  diseases,  at  the  end  of 
which  she  received  a  diploma  as  a  trained  nurse. 
Wlien  the  Japanese  war  broke  out  she  offered  her 
services  and  was  placed  in  charge  of  a  hospital  train, 
where  she  often  had  to  look  after  as  many  as  five 
hundred  wounded  soldiers.  Besides  this  she  directed 
a  field  ambulance  attached  to  the  army  of  General 


Queen  Eleanora  and  Philanthropy      319 

Kuropatkin.  The  staff  of  helpers  which  she  had 
under  her  consisted  of  no  less  than  one  hundred 
nurses.  During  her  faithful  and  arduous  service  in 
this  war,  besides  enduring  daily  hardships,  she  was 
sometimes  placed  in  acute  danger,  being  more  than 
once  actually  under  the  fire  of  the  enemies'  guns. 

'*  Some  time  after  this  experience  she  entered 
Bulgaria  as  her  princess,  for  in  1908  Bulgaria  was 
not  yet  a  kingdom.  The  fact,  however,  that  she  had 
become  the  first  lady  of  a  wliole  nation  did  not 
change  in  the  least  her  interests  and  pursuits  of 
former  years.  Her  heart  and  mind  were  still  with 
the  unfortunate  and  the  suffering.  She  at  once 
became  interested  in  an  institution  for  the  blind 
and  deaf  in  Sofia,  and  herself  secured  money  for 
a  new  building  for  the  unfortunates  sheltered  there. 
She  also  lent  her  support  to  some  four  hospitals  in 
four  of  the  large  cities  of  Bulgaria,  and  one  of  these 
she  is  having  rebuilt.  Besides  all  this  she  has  her- 
self founded  and  now  oversees  a  beautiful  and  spa- 
cious seaside  sanitarium  for  children  afflicted  with 
tuberculosis.  Besides  these  institutions  which  she 
supports  in  part  or  maintains  in  full  from  her  own 
limited  resources,  she  organized  a  few  years  ago 
a  *  Good  Samaritan  Society,'  through  which  she 
succeeded  in  giving  a  six  months'  course  of  train- 
ing in  '  first  aid  to  the  injured  '  to  not  less  than 
450  young  women.  It  was  these  *  good  Samaritans  ' 
who  did  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  nursing 
during  the  recent  wars  in  which  Bulgaria  has  en- 
gaged. 

"  Perhaps,  however,   the  greatest   service   which 


320  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Queen  Eleanora  has  rendered  to  Bulgaria  was  given 
during  the  recent  wars.  Her  activities  for  almost 
a  year  after  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Turkey 
were  incessant.  Surely  very  few  generals  in  his 
majestj^'s  service  worked  more  indefatigahly  than 
did  Queen  Eleanora.  She  established  and  directed 
hospitals  of  her  own  and  interested  herself  in  not 
a  few  otliers  besides.  Nor  did  she  by  any  means 
direct  her  operations  from  Sofia.  The  general  staff 
safely  protected  itself  in  the  heart  of  Bulgaria  or 
on  the  secure  border  of  the  newly  conquered  terri- 
tory, while  her  majesty  was  working  untiringly  in 
the  very  heart  of  Thrace.  She  oversaw  hospitals, 
gave  directions  to  Avorkers,  and  even  bound  up  the 
wounds  of  grimy,  uncouth  soldiers  with  her  own 
hands.  And  in  her  treatment  of  her  helpers  and 
patients  her  thoughtfulness  and  good-will  were  re- 
markable. Every  worthy  helper  felt  that  the  queen 
was  his  particular  friend,  and  hundreds  of  rude, 
brave  peasants  throughout  Bulgaria  will  bequeath 
to  their  children  the  gracious  words  and  the  ex- 
quisite little  presents  given  to  them  by  her  majesty 
while  they  were  suffering  for  their  fatherland  in 
the  war  against  Turkey.  Her  activities  during  the 
war  with  the  allies  were  even  more  unwearying; 
her  days  in  the  palace  in  Sofia  were  still  less. 

''  To  this  her  adopted  people  has  Queen  Eleanora 
devoted  her  life.  Amid  the  turmoil  and  suffering, 
the  hatred  and  ignorance,  the  uncertainty  and  in- 
security of  the  Balkans,  this  brilliant  woman  of  pure 
manners,  rich  culture,  and  broad  interests  scatters 
cheer  and  health  and  culture  among  a  simple,  worthy 


Queen  Eleanora  and  Philanthropy      321 

people.  Political  parties  may  rage,  cabinets  may 
rise  and  fall,  Bulgaria's  enemies  may  form  every 
kind  of  a  plot  against  her,  but  in  the  midst  of  it 
all  her  majesty,  Queen  Eleanora,  offers  hope  to 
the  blind,  makes  the  deaf  to  rejoice,  binds  up  the 
wounds  of  the  maimed,  gives  health  to  the  sick,  pro- 
vides sustenance  for  the  widow  and  orphan,  and 
with  her  life  preaches  the  gospel  of  love,  sympathy, 
and  service  to  the  whole  nation." 

The  Clementine  hospital  at  Sofia,  which  is  under 
the  immediate  supervision  of  Queen  Eleanora,  is 
an  international  institution  and  one  in  which  the 
American  and  English  people  should  have  a  very 
direct  interest.  This  hospital  is  under  Red  Cross 
management  and  is  the  only  liospital  in  Bulgaria 
where  foreigners  may  be  received  and  get  the  kind 
of  service  found  in  the  countries  of  western  Europe 
and  in  America.  The  needs  of  the  hospital  are 
great,  and  generous  people  in  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland  and  the  United  States  should  come  to  the 
aid  of  Bulgaria's  philanthropic  queen  and  provide 
her  with  the  means  to  make  improvements  and  the 
additions  that  are  so  urgently  demanded. 

The  recent  Balkan  wars  made  painfully  api)arent 
not  only  the  need  of  better  hospital  facilities,  but 
the  dearth  of  institutions  for  the  care  of  orphans. 
The  Protestant  and  Catholic  church  organizations 
in  Bulgaria  have  done  what  they  could  to  meet  this 
situation;  but  they  have  been  able  to  care  for  rela- 
tively few  of  the  thousands  of  homeless  orphans. 
Funds  have  been  contributed  by  generous  Amer- 
icans through  the  agency  of  the  Christian  Uerald 


322  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

of  New  York  thai  will  care  for  a  few  of  the  children 
who  were  orphaned  by  the  recent  wars  or  by  the 
barbarities  of  the  Greek  armies  in  Macedonia.  Of 
the  many  thousands  of  Bwlgars  in  Macedonia,  who 
were  forced  to  flee  from  the  atrocities  of  the  Greek 
soldiers  during  the  second  Balkan  war,  most  of  them 
were  women  and  children,  the  husbands  and  fathers 
having  been  massacred  by  the  Greeks  or  met  death 
as  soldiers  in  the  war.  The  false  and  malicious 
charges  of  atrocities  made  by  King  Constantine  and 
the  press  agents  in  the  service  of  the  Greek  govern- 
ment served  to  dam  the  springs  of  charity.  Char- 
itably disposed  persons  in  Europe  and  America, 
who  otherwise  would  have  contributed  to  the  care 
of  the  orphans,  have  responded  half-heartedly  to 
the  appeals  for  aid  in  behalf  of  worthy  Bulgarian 
philanthropic  enterprises.  Now  that  the  report  of 
the  Carnegie  commission  of  the  causes  and  effects 
of  the  Balkan  wars  has  vindicated  the  Bulgars,  and 
has  made  clear  the  enormous  extent  of  atrocities 
committed  by  the  Greeks,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
sympathy  of  a  practical  sort  may  be  forthcoming 
in  the  near  future. 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

AMERICAN    INFLUENCE    IN    BULGARIA 

Larpe  influonco  of  tho  United  Slates  in  tho  intellectual  development 
of  the  nation  —  Robert  Colh^^e — -Work  of  Dr.  Hamlin  ^ — Dr. 
Washburn  and  the  college  — ■  What  it  ha»s  done  for  Bulgaria  — 
Bulgarian  Rtatesjncn  educated  at  Robert  College  —  Present  condi- 
tion of  the  college —  Influence  of  the  American  College  for  Women 
at  Constantinople  —  Work  of  the  American  missionaries  —  Amer- 
ican Institute  at  Samokov  —  American  School  for  Girla  —  The 
inlluence  it  has  exerted  through  iti^  graduates. 

Bulgaria  is  tlio  only  country  in  Europe  in  wliich 
the  United  Stntes  lias  played  an  important  role  in 
the  development  of  a  state;  hut  in  Bulgaria  Amer- 
ican influence  has  been  considerable,  and  the  Bul- 
gars  gratefully  recognize  their  obligation.  In  pre- 
vious chapters  attention  has  been  called  to  the  move- 
ment to  check  the  Ilellenization  of  Bulgaria,  a  move- 
ment that  ultimately  resulted  in  throwing  off  the 
ecclesiastical  yoke  of  the  Greek  church.  It  was  at 
this  period  that  Americans  found  themselves  in  po- 
sition to  help  a  people  struggling  for  religious  lib- 
erty. 

It  was  at  the  time  of  the  conflict  between  zealous 
Bulgarian  patriots  and  the  intolerant  and  corrupt 
Phanariotes  that  American  missionaries  settled  in 
the  country.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of 
the  United  States  sent  its  first  missionaries  to  Euro- 
pean Turkey  in  1857  and  the  American  Board  (Con- 

323 


324  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

grcgational  church)  a  year  later.  The  former  was 
to  confine  its  labours  to  the  region  lying  between  the 
Danube  and  the  Stara  Planina  (Balkans) ;  and  the 
latter,  from  this  geographic  line  south  to  the  ^gean 
sea.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  missionary  work 
in  what  to-day  is  Bulgaria. 

About  the  same  time  there  was  planned  the  open- 
ing of  a  non-sectarian  Christian  college  in  Turkey 
under  the  auspices  of  Americans  interested  in  mis- 
sion work.  Hitherto  the  only  work  of  the  mission- 
ary had  been  to  preach  the  Gospel.  But  the  time 
had  come  when  some  at  least  of  the  missionaries 
saw  the  necessity  of  a  new  departure.  Mr.  Chris- 
topher Robert,  an  American  business  man  who  had 
for  many  years  been  identified  with  the  American 
Home  Missionary  Society,  was  the  first  man  of 
means  in  America  to  sec  and  appreciate  this  need. 

The  idea  of  founding  in  Turkey  an  institution 
after  the  pattern  of  American  colleges  was  sug- 
gested to  Mr.  Robert  in  1857  by  James  and  William 
Dwight,  graduates  of  Yale  University  and  sons  of 
an  American  missionary  in  Turkey.  Funds  were 
not  forthcoming  and  the  plan  was  abandoned.  Mr. 
Robert  had  visited  Constantinople  during  the  Cri- 
mean war  and  was  keenly  impressed  with  the  need 
of  such  an  institution.  In  1859  he  wrote  to  the  Rev- 
erend Cyrus  Hamlin,  then  engaged  in  educational 
work  in  connection  with  the  American  Board  of  For- 
eign Missions,  and  proposed  that  he  should  join  him 
in  an  effort  to  raise  funds  to  establish  a  college  at 
Constantinople,  which  should  offer  to  young  men, 
without  distinction  of  race  or  creed,  the  opportunity 


American  Influence  in  Bulgaria        325 

to  secure  a  tlioroiigli  education,  equivalent  to  that 
obtainable  in  a  first-class  American  college  and 
based  on  the  same  principles. 

Dr.  Hamlin  came  to  America  during  the  summer 
of  1860;  but  it  was  not  a  favourable  time  to  raise 
money  for  such  a  project.  The  country  was  ab- 
sorbed in  the  conflict  between  the  free  and  the  slave 
states.  The  presidential  election  and  the  subse- 
quent outbreak  of  civil  war  made  it  impossible  to 
awaken  interest  and  secure  funds,  and  Mr.  Robert 
and  Dr.  Ilanilin  were  accordingly  left  to  undertake 
the  work  alone.  Dr.  Hamlin  returned  to  Turkey 
in  June,  1861,  to  make  such  arrangements  as  might 
be  possible  for  the  erection  of  a  building  and  the 
organization  of  the  college. 

There  were  delays  in  securing  the  necessary  au- 
thorization from  the  Ottoman  government,  but  these 
delays,  according  to  Dr.  Washburn,  did  not  orig- 
inate witli  the  Turks.  ''  If  left  to  themselves,"  he 
writes,  *'  they  would  probably  have  regarded  it  as 
a  matter  of  very  little  importance  in  any  way.  The 
powers  that  he  (Dr.  Hamlin)  had  to  contend  with 
were  France,  Russia,  and  the  Roman  Catholic 
church.  Their  influence  was  pushed  to  the  utmost  to 
prevent  the  establishment  of  a  college  which  would 
promote  and  extend  the  use  of  the  English  language 
and  the  influence  of  Protestant,  English  and  Amer- 
ican, ideas.  They  were  formidable  enemies  because 
at  that  time  our  friends  were  weak.  America,  en- 
gaged in  a  great  civil  war,  had  little  influence  here; 
Prussia  and  Holland  were  friendly,  but  without 
much  influence ;  England  at  the  close  of  the  Crimean 


326  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

war  had  lost  her  dominant  position  at  Constanti- 
nople." ^ 

With  these  forces  arrayed  against  the  college  it 
was  not  possible  to  secure  at  this  time  the  necessary 
permission  to  erect  a  college  building.  It  was  ac- 
cordingly decided  to  begin  work  in  a  rented  house  at 
Bebek  on  the  Bosporus,  near  Constantinople.  Two 
American  professors  —  H.  A.  Schauffler  and  G.  A. 
Perkins  —  and  four  native  tutors  were  appointed, 
and  the  institution  was  formally  opened  the  16th 
of  September,  1803.  The  first  class  was  graduated 
in  1868.  It  included  an  Armenian  and  a  Bulgar: 
Hagopos  Djedjizan,  who  has  ever  since  been  asso- 
ciated with  the  college  as  professor  of  the  Armenian 
language  and  literature,  and  Petko  Gorbanoff,  who, 
up  to  his  death  in  1909,  was  in  constant  public  serv- 
ice in  his  country  after  its  liberation  from  Turkey. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  national  Bulgarian  assem- 
bly, and  was  for  some  time  its  vice-president;  he 
served  on  the  administrative  council  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  international  railway;  was  general 
secretar}^  to  the  Bulgarian  minister  of  justice;  and 
was  assistant  mayor  of  the  city  of  Sofia. 

There  were  six  graduates  in  the  class  of  1869,  all 
of  them  Bulgarians,  and. all  of  them  have  filled  im- 
portant posts  in  the  government  of  Bulgaria.  The- 
odor  J.  Djabaroff  taught  at  Shumen  and  was  prefect 
at  Svishtov,  Plevna,  Varna,  and  Razgrad ;  he  served 
as  secretary  of  the  commission  of  the  state  railways ; 
was  director  of  the  Varna,  Kustchuk,  and  Burgas 

•  Fifty  Years  in  Conslanlinojde  and  Recollections  of  Robert  College. 
By  George  Washburn.     Boston,  1911,  pp.  319. 


American  Influence  in  Bulgaria        327 

railway;  member  of  the  commission  in  the  minis- 
try of  public  works;  and  director  of  the  national 
printing  establishment.  Jordan  J.  Economoff 
taught  in  a  secondary  school  at  Varna;  studied 
theology  at  the  Drew  Theological  Seminary  in 
America,  and  engaged  in  the  work  of  the  Protestant 
ministry.  Peter  M.  Mattheoff  served  as  postmaster 
at  Sofia ;  secretary  to  the  governor-general  of  East- 
ern Rumelia ;  member  of  the  Bulgarian  national 
assembly;  inspector  of  administration  of  the  min- 
istry of  the  interior;  director  general  of  Bulgarian 
posts  and  telegraphs;  chief  commissioner  of  the 
Bulgarian  section  of  the  St.  Louis  exposition;  and 
Bulgarian  diplomatic  agent  to  Greece.  Naiden 
Nicoloff  has  been  administrator  of  the  Bulgarian 
National  Bank  and  held  other  posts  of  trust.  Stefan 
Thomoff  taught  at  Yambol;  studied  theology  at 
Drew  Theological  Seminary;  and  engaged  in  the 
work  of  the  Protestant  ministry. 

Only  one  person  graduated  in  the  class  of  1870, 
and  he  w^as  an  Armenian.  The  graduating  class  of 
1871  numbered  five,  all  Bulgars,  and  all  have  held 
important  positions  in  their  country.  Ivan  E.  Gue- 
shoff,  recently  prime  minister  of  Bulgaria,  was  a 
member  of  this  class.  He  has  served  as  mayor  of 
Philippopolis;  been  a  member  of  the  national  as- 
sembly; has  been  the  representative  of  the  Bul- 
garian government  at  Paris,  Constantinople,  and 
Vienna.  Stefan  Panareto ff  has  served  as  a  special 
envoy  of  the  Bulgarian  government,  and  for  many 
years  he  has  been  professor  of  the  Bulgarian  laji- 
guage  and  literature  at  Pobert  College.    Ivan  Slave- 


328  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

ikoff  was  an  instructor  at  Robert  College  and  later 
at  Pliilippopolis,  Slivcn,  and  Sofia ;  he  was  secretary 
of  the  Bulgarian  legation  at  Bucharest ;  member  of 
the  national  assembly;  mayor  of  Sofia,  and  minister 
of  public  instruction  of  Bulgaria.  Constantine 
StoVloff  was  a  member  of  the  court  of  appeals  at 
Pliilippopolis ;  president  of  the  court  of  appeals  at 
Sofia;  member  of  the  national  assembly;  minister 
of  foreign  affairs  and  prime  minister  of  Bulgaria. 
Petko  Taptchileshtoif  was  secretary  of  the  Bulga- 
rian cabinet  and  became  merchant  and  banker.  It 
will  thus  be  seen  that  the  class  of  1871  furnished 
Bulgaria  with  two  mayors,  three  ambassadors,  four 
members  of  the  national  assembly,  and  three  cabinet 
members,  two  of  whom  were  prime  ministers! 

Of  the  eight  graduates  in  the  class  of  1872,  six 
were  Bulgars.  Oonstantine  Caltchoff  was  a  member 
of  the  national  assembly ;  served  as  an  envoy  to 
the  great  powers;  was  vice-director  of  finance  in 
Eastern  Rumelia,  and  engaged  in  banking.  Stefan 
M.  Cambouroff  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Bulgarian 
army  and  died  ten  years  after  graduation.  Peter 
Dimitroff  was  first  a  teacher  and  later  prefect  at 
Philippopolis ;  served  in  the  Bulgarian  diplomatic 
service  at  Belgrade,  Bucharest,  Constantinople  and 
Athens;  was  chief  Bulgarian  commissioner  at  the 
Paris  exposition;  and  has  served  as  secretary  gen- 
eral to  the  ministry  of  foreign  affairs.  Dimiter 
Economoff  was  sub-prefect  at  Tulcea  and  Nicopol, 
and  prefect  at  Varna  and  Shumen.  Ivan  D.  Gue- 
shoff  was  secretary  of  the  Bulgarian  diplomatic 
service   at  Belgrade   and   Constantinople;    charge 


American  Influence  in  Bulgaria         329 

d'affaires  at  Belgrade;  member  of  the  national 
assembly;  and  until  quite  recently  mayor  of  the 
city  of  Sofia. 

There  was  only  one  graduate  in  the  class  of  1873 
and  he  was  a  Bulgar,  John  J.  Sitchanoff,  who  taught 
in  the  American  school  at  Samokov;  was  pastor  of 
Protestant  churches  at  Bansko  and  Panagurishte, 
and  is  now  the  editor  of  a  religious  paper  published 
at  Sofia.  All  the  members  of  the  class  of  1874  were 
Bulgarians.  Ivan  Bradinoff  was  chief  engineer  for 
the  district  of  Sofia  and  principal  of  the  Polytechnic 
School  at  Sofia.  Dossi  Economoff  was  chief  of  the 
section  of  the  ministry  of  justice ;  vice-president  of 
the  court  of  appeal,  and  president  of  the  high  judi- 
cial administrative  committee  of  the  ministry  of 
public  works.  Peter  Gobranoff  was  teacher  at  Shu- 
men;  prefect  at  Rustchuk,  Tirnovo,  and  Philippop- 
olis;  and  mayor  of  Elena.  Peter  Tcherneff  was 
under-secretaiy  of  the  ministry  of  foreign  affairs; 
diplomatic  representative  at  Bucharest;  member  of 
the  national  assembly;    and  mayor  of  Sofia. 

This  list  of  the  graduates  during  the  first  ten 
years  of  the  work  of  the  college  gives  some  notion 
of  the  splendid  service  that  the  institution  has  ren- 
dered for  the  new  Balkan  state.  The  reader  must 
have  observed  the  preponderance  of  Bulgars  among 
those  completing  the  four  years'  course  in  the  col- 
lege. Dr.  Washburn  remarks  in  tliis  connection: 
''  For  twenty  years  the  great  majorit}'  of  the  grad- 
uates were  of  this  nationality.  During  the  previous 
decade  the  Bulgarians  had  awakened  from  the  sleep 
of  centuries.    They  had  thro\vn  off  the  yoke  of  the 


330  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Greek  patriarch  of  Constantinople  and  bad  begun 
to  dream  of  escaping  from  that  of  the  Turk.  It  was 
a  nation  of  peasants,  held  in  ignorance  by  a  double 
bondage.  "Wlien  they  began  to  seek  for  enlighten- 
ment, their  attention  was  first  directed  to  Robert 
College  by  Dr.  Long,  then  an  American  missionaiy 
in  Bulgaria  and  later  a  professor  in  the  college. 
Although  Dr.  Hamlin  had  interested  himself  in  the 
Bulgarians  in  1856  and  used  his  influence  to  have 
missions  established  in  Bulgaria,  it  does  not  appear 
from  their  correspondence  that  either  he  or  Mr.  Rob- 
ert had  ever  thought  of  them  as  possible  students 
in  the  college;  and  Mr.  Robert  died  without  know- 
ing that  he  had  played  an  important  part  in  found- 
ing a  new  state  in  Europe." 

It  is  interesting  likewise  to  note  the  positions 
occupied  by  the  Bulgarian  students  after  their  grad- 
uation from  Robert  College.  Their  records  for  pub- 
lic service  are  remarkable.  Dr.  Washburn,  for  so 
many  years  the  distinguished  president  of  the  col- 
lege, in  the  work  from  which  the  above  quotation 
was  made,  mentions  the  fact  that  in  the  class  of 
1881  there  were  nine  Bulgars,  two  Armenians,  and 
one  Greek.  All  of  the  Bulgars  engaged  in  some  form 
of  public  service  —  teaching,  consular  or  diplomatic 
service,  or  as  members  of  the  national  assembl}^  or 
municipal  government.  One  of  the  Armenians  en- 
gaged in  teaching,  and  the  other  took  up  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine.     The  Greek  engaged  in  business. 

Robert  College  has  furnished  men  for  hundreds 
of  important  and  responsible  posts  in  Bulgaria  — 
cabinet  officers  and  members  of  the  national  assem- 


DK.     GEORGE    WASHBURN,     EDUCATOR    OF    BULGARIAN    STATESMEN. 


American  Influence  in  Bulgaria        331 

bly,  ambassadors  and  consuls,  mayors  of  cities  and 
judges  of  courts,  educators,  physicians,  clergymen, 
lawyers,  librarians,  journalists,  army  officers,  and 
bankers.  These  men  came  in  contact  with  the  finest 
type  of  American  manhood,  educators  of  the  fine 
quality  of  Dr.  Hamlin  and  Dr.  Washburn,  the  first 
presidents  of  the  college,  during  their  four  years 
at  the  institution.  They  were  instructed  by  pro- 
fessors with  good  training  and  high  ideals  from 
American  institutions  like  Amherst,  Bowdoin,  Will- 
iams, Dartmouth,  and  Oberlin.  And  they  have  car- 
ried back  to  the  fatherland  a  large  measure  of  the 
spirit  of  service  for  which  Robert  College  has  al- 
ways been  so  conspicuous. 

As  already  noted,  the  college  began  its  work  at 
Bebek.  It  was  removed  to  Rumeli  Ilissar  in  1871. 
Dr.  Hamlin  continued  president  of  the  college  until 
1878,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  George  Wash- 
burn. Dr.  Washburn  had  graduated  at  Amherst 
College;  taken  a  theological  course  at  the  Andover 
Theological  Seminary,  and  had  been  a  missionary 
in  Turkey  from  1858  to  1862.  In  1862  he  became 
one  of  the  professors  of  Robert  College;  and  from 
1870  to  1878  he  was  acting  president  of  the  college. 
Upon  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Hamlin  in  1878  he  was 
chosen  president  of  the  college,  and  this  position 
he  held  until  190.'^,  when  he  resigned  and  was  made 
president  emeritus.  Dr.  C.  Frank  Gates  is  now 
president  of  the  college. 

Under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Washburn,  Robert 
College  rose  to  recognized  rank  among  the  higher 
institutions  of  Europe,    It  is  everywhere  in  the  near 


332  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

east  regarded  as  a  model  Christian  college;  and 
in  tlie  development  of  manliness  and  the  spirit 
of  social  service  among  its  students,  it  probably 
stands  in  a  class  by  itself  among  collegiate  insti- 
tutions in  Europe,  ^^lile  its  special  eminence  has 
been  in  the  matter  of  the  development  of  the  finest 
social  and  spiritual  qualities  of  its  students,  it  has 
likewise  taken  high  rank  in  the  matter  of  scholar- 
ship, and  many  of  its  graduates  occupy  posts  of 
honour  in  European  and  American  colleges  and  uni- 
versities. 

The  college  occupies  a  beautiful  site  of  fifty  acres 
at  Rumeli  Hissar  on  the  Bosporus,  a  few  miles  from 
Constantinople.  Through  the  generosity  of  Amer- 
ican philanthropists,  seven  handsome  college  build- 
ings and  thirteen  residences  for  professors  have 
been  erected  on  the  grounds.  The  faculty  includes 
thirty  professors  and  thirty-six  instructors.  Six 
hundred  students,  representing  nineteen  nationali- 
ties, are  at  present  enrolled  in  the  college.  There 
are  about  a  hundred  Turks,  the  same  number  of  Bul- 
garians, and  a  considerable  number  of  Armenians, 
Albanians,  Greeks,  Persians,  and  Jews.  Through 
the  generosity  of  Mr.  Charles  R.  Crane  of  Chicago, 
six  scholarships  have  been  established  for  Albanian 
students. 

Dr,  Washburn  writes  concerning  the  unique  serv- 
ice rendered  Bulgaria  by  Robert  College:  "  In  our 
college  work  we  did  nothing  for  the  Bulgarians 
which  we  did  not  do  for  other  nationalities  or  which 
we  might  not  have  done  for  the  Turks  if  any  num- 
ber of  them  had  come  to  the  college.    It  was  not  our 


American  Influence  in  Bulgaria        333 

purpose  to  denationalize  our  students,  to  make 
Americans  of  them  or  cosmopolitans.  We  were  cos- 
mopolitan in  the  fifteen  nationalities  represented  in 
the  college,  and  we  did  our  best  to  teach  them  mu- 
tual respect  and  good-will,  but  our  purpose  was  to 
train  each  one  to  be  a  worthy  member  and  a  wise 
leader  of  his  own  nationality.  It  is  true  that  English 
was  the  language  of  the  college,  but  this  was  made 
necessary  because  we  must  have  a  common  language 
where  the  students  of  many  mother-tongues  could 
meet  on  equal  tcrins  and  because  this  language 
opened  to  them  the  learning  and  the  literature  of 
the  world.  At  the  same  time  we  spared  no  pains 
to  make  them  masters  of  their  o\\m  language,  litera- 
ture, and  history.  Our  curriculum  was  adapted  as 
far  as  possible  to  their  conditions. 

**  It  was  in  this  way  that  Eobert  College  became, 
as  King  Ferdinand  has  called  it,  a  nursery  of  Bul- 
garian statesmen.  Through  the  long,  hopeless 
years  before  the  dawn  of  independence,  young  Bul- 
garians were  fitting  themselves  there  under  Chris- 
tian and  American  influence  to  be  leaders  of  tlieir 
people  out  of  ilio  bondage  of  serfdom  into  the  free- 
dom of  self-government.  "Wben  the  opportunity 
came  they  were  ready  for  it.  Graduates  of  other 
nationalities  might  have  done  as  well,  if  a  similar 
opportunity  had  come  to  them. 

*'  Another  and  quite  unexpected  line  of  influence 
was  opened  to  Bobert  College  by  the  fact  that  its 
establishment  in  Constantinople  had  attracted  tlie 
attention  of  all  the  great  powers  of  Europe  and  led 
to  a  long  conflict  between  those  who  opposed  and 


334  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

those  who  favoured  it.    It  brought  us  into  specially 
intimate  relations  with  England,  with  statesmen  of 
both  parties,  the  press  and  the  embassy.     It  was 
a  unique  position.    AVe  had  no  favours  to  ask  for 
ourselves,  and  we  were  believed  to  have  a  better 
knowledge  of  what  was  going  on  in  Turkey  than 
any  one  else.    On  the  other  side  our  relations  with 
the  people  were  such  that  they  had  confidence  in 
our  wisdom  and   our  devotion  to   their   interests. 
Both  parties  sought  our  advice  and  aid.    They  did 
not  always  follow  our  advice,  but  in  the  case  of  the 
Bulgarians  we  were  able  to  be  of  great  service  to 
them  in  some  of  the  most  critical  periods  of  their 
history.    We  came  into  actual  conflict  with  the  Eng- 
lish government  only  once.     That  was  when  Dis- 
raeli was  prime  minister,  and  the  Turks  were  mas- 
sacring the  Bulgarians.     It  is  too  long  a  story  to 
be  told  here,  but  having  first  appealed  privately  to 
England  in  vain,  we  appealed  to  the  world,  and  Mr. 
Disraeli  denounced   our  statements   in  parliament 
as  *  coffee-house  babble.'    It  was  then  that  Horace 
Maynard,  our  ambassador,  came  to  the  rescue  and 
sent  Consul  General  Schuyler  to  Bulgaria  to  inves- 
tigate.    It  was  Mr.  Schuyler's  report  which  first 
moved  Mr.  Gladstone  to  enter  upon  the  campaign 
which  roused  the  indignation  of  Europe  and  led  to 
the  conference  of  Constantinople,  the  Russo-Turk- 
isii  war,  and  the  independence  of  Bulgaria.    As  our 
graduates  came  to  the  front  in  the  organization  and 
development  of  the  country  it  was  natural  for  them 
to  seek  our  advice  and  aid.    One  of  them,  Mr.  Stoi- 
loff,  was  the  private  secretary  and  most  intimate 


American  Influence  in  Bulgaria        335 

friend  of  Prince  Alexander.  Another,  Mr.  Dimi- 
troff,  occupied  a  similar  position  in  Eastern  Ku- 
melia,  before  the  union  of  that  province  with  Bul- 
garia. Others  occupied  important  positions  in  the 
ministry  and  the  national  assemblies.  Our  confi- 
dential relations  with  them  and  with  the  English 
government,  which  was  then  dominant  at  Constan- 
tinople, enabled  us  to  aid  them  in  many  ways,  spe- 
cially during  the  years  when  Russia,  under  Alex- 
ander III,  was  an  active  enemy  of  Bulgaria.  The 
Russian  newspapers  at  that  time  accused  us  of  hav- 
ing spent  half  a  million  pounds  of  English  money 
to  overthrow  their  influence.  It  is  an  interesting 
fact  that  the  Turkish  government  never  accused  us 
of  plotting  against  it,  and  never  complained  of  our 
relations  with  Bulgaria.  T  suppose  that  our  well- 
known  relations  with  the  British  embassy  satisfied 
them  that  we  had  never  in  any  way  encouraged  any 
revolutionary  movements,  which  was  true. 

**  The  Bulgarians  arc  a  grateful  people  and  they 
never  fail  to  count  us  among  the  founders  of  the 
kingdom.  It  will  be  seen  that  American  influence 
in  Bulgaria  was  chiefly  moral  and  only  incidentally 
political,  but  I  think  that  it  is  true  that  without  this 
influence  Bulgaria  would  have  been  dominated  by 
Russian  ideals  rather  than  American,  and  would 
never  have  been  the  free  state  which  she  is  to-day. 
A  small  state,  with  a  liomogeneous  population,  un- 
trammelled by  traditions,  she  has  made  more  prog- 
ress during  the  last  thirty  years  tliau  any  other 
country  in  tlio  world." 

Another  American  institution  tliat  has  exercised 


336  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

large  infiuenco  in  Bulgaria  is  tlie  American  College 
for  Women  at  Constantinople.  It  was  established 
by  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  in  1871 
as  a  secondary  scliool  for  girls.  The  aim  of  the 
school  was  to  offer  facilities  for  the  higher  educa- 
tion of  women  in  a  part  of  Europe  where  such  op- 
portunities did  not  exist.  The  school  was  first  es- 
tablished at  Scutari,  a  suburb  of  Constantinople,  on 
the  Asiatic  shore  of  the  Bosporus.  The  institution 
was  raised  to  the  rank  of  a  college  in  1890 ;  and  in 
1912  it  was  moved  to  its  beautiful  new  quarters  near 
Robert  College  and  re-christened  Constantinople 
College.  It  has  a  faculty  of  twenty-five  professors 
and  instructors  in  the  collegiate  department;  fifteen 
instructors  in  the  secondary  department;  and  eight 
instructors  in  the  school  of  music.  Dr.  Mary  Mills 
Patrick,  an  American  woman  of  recognized  scholar- 
ship and  administrative  ability,  has  been  president 
of  the  college  for  many  years. 

Like  Robert  College  it  has  drawn  its  students 
from  the  numerous  nationalities  of  the  near  east; 
and,  like  Robert  College,  Bulgaria  has  been  most 
largely  represented  in  its  student  body,  and  the  Bul- 
garian graduates  have  exerted  the  largest  measure 
of  influence.  About  twenty-six  per  cent,  of  the  total 
number  of  alumnae  have  been  Bulgars ;  and  many 
other  Bulgarian  women  have  pursued  courses  in  the 
college  and  taken  the  course  in  the  secondary  school. 
All  these  women  have  exerted  a  strong  influence 
among  their  people.  Bulgarian  girls  in  large  num- 
bers entered  the  American  school  after  the  Russo- 
Turkish  war.    Ellenka  Dimitrieva  (now  Mrs.  Peter 


American  Influence  in  Bulgaria         337 


Yencheff)  was  the  first  Bulgarian  woman  to  grad- 
uate. Two  of  her  daughters  have  recently  been 
graduated  from  the  college.  The  college  graduated 
a  class  of  twenty-three  in  1912,  eleven  of  whom  were 
Bulgars.  Through  the  munificence  of  Mr.  Charles 
R.  Crane  of  Chicago  six  scholarships  have  been  es- 
tablished for  Albanian  girls.  The  Bulgarian  women 
who  have  studied  at  the  Constantinople  College 
have  rendered  most  efficient  social  service  in  their 
country,  as  teachers,  nurses,  and  social  workers. 
Many  of  them  have  married  prominent  statesmen 
and  publicists.  The  Constantinople  College  has 
been  well  characterized  by  Bulgarians  as  '*  the 
institution  that  trains  the  mothers  of  our  states- 
men and  leaders." 

Besides  the  influence  of  these  two  splendid  Amer- 
ican educational  institutions,  is  that  of  the  mission- 
aries sent  out  by  the  Protestant  churches  of  the 
United  States.  As  already  mentioned,  the  work  of 
missionaries  during  the  past  half-century  has  not 
been  confined  to  *'  the  oral  utterance  of  the  Gospel 
in  public  or  in  private."  Missionaries  have  engaged 
heartily  in  educational  work  in  diverse  forms.  Be- 
sides the  elementary  and  secondary  schools  that  they 
established,  the  missionaries  were  instrumental  in 
sending  large  numbers  of  young  men  to  the  United 
States  to  pursue  courses  in  colleges  and  technical 
schools,  and  practically  all  such  students  returned 
to  the  fatherland  and  became  men  of  mark  in  public 
and  private  life. 

Dr.  A.  S.  TsanolT,  the  veteran  editor  of  Zorniiza, 
the  oldest  journal  published  in  the  Bulgarian  Ian- 


338  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

guage,  was  educated  at  Amherst  College  forty  years 
ago;  the  Reverend  Marko  N.  Popoff,  who  for 
nineteen  years  was  the  pastor  of  the  Protestant 
community  at  Sofia  and  made  that  church  a  self- 
supporting  and  highly  effective  religious  organiza- 
tion, was  graduated  from  Hamilton  College;  Stoyan 
K.  Vatralsky,  a  publicist  and  writer,  was  graduated 
from  Harvard  University;  Constantine  Stepha- 
nove,  at  the  head  of  the  department  of  the  English 
language  and  literature  in  the  University  of  Sofia 
and  the  author  of  the  standard  English-Bulgarian 
dictionary,  was  graduated  from  Yale  University; 
the  Reverend  D.  N.  Furnajieff,  pastor  of  the  Prot- 
estant church  at  Sofia,  was  graduated  from  Prince- 
ton University.  Scores  of  men  in  public  life  in 
Bulgaria  —  lawyers,  judges,  physicians,  teachers, 
journalists,  preachers,  engineers  —  have  been  edu- 
cated in  American  institutions.  And  these  men, 
like  the  graduates  of  Robert  College,  have  been 
active  exponents  of  American  ideals  and  culture. 
Americans  of  superior  character  like  Elias  Riggs, 
Albert  N.  Long,  George  D.  Marsh,  J.  F.  Clarke,  and 
J.  W.  Baird  have  spent  their  entire  lives  in  the 
mission  work  in  Bulgaria.  These  men  went  directly 
after  graduation  from  college  to  the  Balkans,  where 
they  laboured  with  a  disinterested  zeal  that  is  found 
among  no  other  class  of  workers. 

The  American  Institute  at  Samokov,  a  secondary 
school  for  boys,  organized  fifty-throe  years  ago  by 
the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  has  given 
an  excellent  secondary  education  to  nearly  a  thou- 
sand Bulgarian  youths.    Nearly  all  the  pastors  and 


American  Influence  in  Bulgaria        339 

preachers  connected  with  the  Protestant  mission 
work  in  Bulgaria  and  Macedonia  have  received  their 
training  in  this  school;  and  many  of  the  Bulgars 
who  have  come  to  America  for  collegiate  courses 
were  prepared  for  college  at  Samokov.  A  consid- 
erable number  of  former  students  of  the  American 
Institute  occupy  responsible  positions  in  the  public 
and  private  life  of  Bulgaria.  A  Bulgarian  writer 
pays  this  tribute  to  the  work  of  the  American  Insti- 
tute: ''  Through  the  example  and  instruction  of  its 
teachers,  an  unconscious  influence  is  exerted  for  the 
building  of  character.  Spiritual  culture  is  more 
ideal  and  more  solid  at  Samokov  than  anywhere 
else  among  us."  The  principal  of  the  school  is  the 
Reverend  L.  F,  Ostrander.  The  annual  enrollment 
varies  from  seventy-five  to  a  hundred  students.  A 
theological  seminary,  with  a  course  covering  two 
years,  is  affiliated  with  the  institute.  Graduates  of 
the  institute,  who  wish  to  engage  in  the  work  of  the 
Protestant  ministry,  may  receive  their  training 
here. 

The  American  School  for  Girls  at  Samokov  is 
another  institution  that  has  exerted  large  influence 
in  Bulgaria.  It  was  opened  at  Stara  Zagora  in  1863 
and  was  the  first  school  of  its  rank  for  the  education 
of  girls  opened  in  the  country.  Eight  years  later, 
chiefly  because  of  the  more  favourable  climate,  the 
school  was  moved  to  Samokov,  a  mountain  town  of 
ten  thousand  inhabitants  near  the  Macedonian  fron- 
tier. The  scliool  has  been  directed  from  the  first  by 
the  finest  type  of  American  collpge  women.  Miss 
Esther  Tappan  Maltbic,  of  Oberlin  College,  was  the 


340  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

principal  of  the  school  from  1870  to  1906,  and  Miss 
Inez  L.  Abbott,  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  and 
later  of  the  school  for  classical  studies  at  Rome,  has 
been  principal  since  1907.  Miss  Ellen  M.  Stone, 
Miss  Mary  M.  Haskell,  and  Miss  Agnes  M.  Baird 
have  also  rendered  admirable  service  for  the  school. 
More  than  eight  hundred  Bulgarian  women  have 
been  students  at  the  school,  and  the  graduates  occupy 
important  posts  as  teachers  in  the  national  schools, 
nurses,  and  religious  and  social  workers.  The  wives 
of  most  of  the  Protestant  pastors  of  Bulgaria  and 
Macedonia  have  been  educated  at  the  Samokov 
school.  Throughout  the  kingdom  Samokov  gradu- 
ates are  distinguished  for  social  service.  Several 
graduates  have  taken  up  professional  and  business 
callings.  The  proprietor  of  the  leading  book-store 
at  Sofia,  for  example,  is  a  graduate  of  the  American 
school  at  Samokov.  It  has  also  served  as  a  fitting 
school  for  Bulgarian  girls  who  have  taken  courses 
at  the  American  College  at  Constantinople  and  vari- 
ous collegiate  institutions  in  the  United  States.  It 
is  the  testimony  of  competent  Bulgarian  critics  that 
the  school  has  rendered  significant  service  to  the 
nation  not  only  in  preparing  teachers  of  superior 
character,  but  in  fitting  Bulgarian  women  to  become 
home-makers,  housekeepers,  and  intelligent  mothers. 
For  the  splendid  work  the  school  has  done  during 
the  last  fifty  years  and  the  large  field  before  it  for 
equally  useful  work  in  the  future,  it  certainly  merits 
the  hearty  support  of  philanthropic  Americans. 


CHAPTER   XXIV 

SOFIA,    THE    MODERN    CAPITAL 

The  Bite  of  an  ancient  city  —  Sofia  in  the  eighteenth  century  —  Trans- 
formation since  it  ceased  to  be  a  Turkish  town  —  The  Djul-Dscha- 
mija  mosque — The  Buyuk  Djamia  —  The  Black  Mosque  —  New 
cathedral  of  Alexander  Nevsky  —  Bulgarian  National  Theatre  — 
Palace  of  the  Holy  Synod  —  Public  bath  —  Post-office  —  Statue 
of  the  Tsar  Liberator  —  Public  gardens  —  The  suburbs  of  Sofia. 

Sofia,  the  handsome  capital  of  the  new  kingdom, 
was  an  important  towTi  in  pre-Roman  days.  The 
Shop  tribes  of  peasants  who  live  in  the  mountains 
near  by  may  be  the  descendants  of  the  ancient  Da- 
cians  who  occupied  the  town  when  Diocletian  made 
it  the  capital  of  Lower  Dacia.  It  was  a  prosperous 
town  when  it  was  captured  by  Krum  and  his  Bulgars 
in  809.  He  made  it  the  capital  of  his  kingdom.  It 
was  occupied  by  the  Turks  in  1383  and  remained  in 
their  hands,  save  for  a  brief  period  when  it  was 
occupied  by  the  Hungarians  under  John  Hunyady 
in  1443,  until  they  were  driven  out  by  General 
Gurko  in  1878. 

Lady  Montagu  of  England  tarried  in  Sofia  a  few 
days  on  her  way  from  London  to  Constantinople  in 
1717.  She  tells  us  that  Sofia  is  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful towns  in  the  Turkish  empire.  Under  Turkish 
rule  Sofia  was  the  residence  of  an  Ottoman  governor, 
and  for  many  years  it  was  an  important  centre  for 
trade  with  Ragusa.  It  was  the  headquarters  of 
Mustafa  Pasha  during  the  Turko-Russian  campaign 

841 


342  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

of  1829.  An  English  traveller  who  visited  the  city 
in  1860  calls  it "  a  miserably  poor  place. ' '  The  same 
traveller  in  1890  writes:  ''  Of  all  the  cities  of  the 
east,  Sofia  has  made  the  greatest  improvement." 

On  the  eve  of  liberation  Sofia  is  described  as  '*  a 
concourse  of  mean,  red-tiled  little  houses  and  cab- 
ins of  wood  and  plaster.  Its  crooked,  narrow  lanes, 
leading  nowhere  in  particular,  were  unpaved.  In 
rainy  weather  they  were  no  better  than  sewers.  In 
Turkish  Sofia  no  Christian  woman  dared  venture  out 
of  the  house  after  dark,  or  far  from  it  in  the  day- 
time. There  were  no  street  lamps.  No  man  went 
out  of  doors  in  the  night-time  without  a  lantern," 

When  the  author  visited  Sofia  for  the  first  time 
fourteen  years  ago,  it  still  retained  the  character  of 
a  Turkish  town.  But  a  great  transformation  has 
taken  place  during  the  last  dozen  years.  A  beauti- 
ful city  has  been  created  upon  the  ruins  of  the  old 
squalid  Turkisli  town.  Handsome  public  buildings 
and  private  residences,  broad  and  well-paved  streets, 
tramways  and  electric  lights,  and  all  the  appurte- 
nances of  a  modern  city  are  now  found  at  the  mod- 
ern capital,  which  is  the  social  and  intellectual  as 
well  as  the  political  centre  of  the  new  national  life. 

The  process  of  transformation  was  begun  under 
the  reign  of  Prince  Alexander  of  Battenberg.  He 
built  the  royal  palace  and  had  constructed  a  number 
of  public  buildings.  The  royal  palace  is  a  solid 
rectangular  edifice  surrounded  by  high  drab-col- 
oured walls.  The  entrance  to  the  palace  is  through 
massive  iron  gates.  It  can  scarcely  be  called  a  hand- 
some building. 


Sofia,  the  Modern  Capital  343 

When  King  Ferdinand  got  firmly  seated  on  his 
throne  he  took  np  the  matter  of  transforming  his 
capital  into  a  thoroughly  modern  city.  Large  parts 
of  the  old  Turkish  town  were  pulled  down.  Five- 
story  houses,  chiefly  of  brick  encased  in  stucco,  re- 
placed the  hovels  of  wood  and  mud.  Narrow,  dirty 
alleys  were  widened  into  broad  thoroughfares  and 
paved  with  macadam.  The  work  of  building  the 
new  city  was  interrupted  by  the  Balkan  wars,  but 
it  has  been  actively  resumed  during  recent  months. 

The  Djul-Dschamija,  with  its  slender  minaret,  is 
one  of  the  few  reminders  of  the  evil  Turkish  days. 
Parts  of  the  mosque  are  said  to  have  been  erected 
by  Trajan  as  a  heathen  temple  in  the  Roman  days. 
Constantine  the  Great  consecrated  it  as  a  Christian 
church  and  dedicated  it  to  Saint  George.  The  Turks 
five  hundred  years  ago  transformed  it  into  a  mosque 
and  added  the  minaret.  It  is  still  used  as  a  house 
of  worship  by  the  Moslem  residents  of  Sofia. 

The  Buyuk  Djamia,  with  its  nine  metal  cupolas, 
was  the  most  important  sanctuary  during  the  days 
of  Turkish  occupation.  To-day  it  houses  the  Bul- 
garian National  Museum.  The  museum  contains  the 
beginning  of  a  collection  that  will  ultimately  rep- 
resent the  historical  development  of  the  country 
from  earliest  Dacian  times  to  the  present  day.  A 
considerable  number  of  monuments  belonging  to 
pre-historic  times,  as  well  as  numbers  of  relics  be- 
longing to  the  Roman  and  Byzantine  periods  of 
Macedonia  and  Bulgaria,  have  been  secured.  Many 
of  the  old  Slavic  inscriptions  in  stone  have  great 
historical  value.     The  museum  has  notable  coUec- 


344  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

tions  of  bas-reliefs,  bronzes,  and  coins.  Here  also 
is  found  the  beginnings  of  a  national  gallery  of 
painting  and  sculpture.  Such  works  of  art  as  have 
been  purchased  by  the  national  government  are 
displayed  in  the  museum.  Bulgaria  also  has  an 
interesting  ethnographic  collection  at  present  housed 
in  a  private  building.  An  ethnographic  museum 
building  is  shortly  to  be  erected  at  Sofia. 

The  Tscherna  Djamia,  or  Black  Mosque,  is  now 
used  as  a  place  of  worship  by  the  Orthodox  church. 
The  most  significant  religious  monument  in  the  city 
is  the  ruin  of  the  church  of  St.  Sofia,  a  basilica  with 
three  naves  that  dates  from  the  year  1329.  The 
cathedral  or  church  of  Sveti  Krai,  with  three  cupo- 
las, is  one  of  the  least  attractive  public  buildings  in 
the  city.  It  is  a  modem  structure  and  is  the  chief 
place  of  worship  of  the  state  religion.  It  contains 
the  remains  of  the  Servian  king  Stefan  Uros  II. 

The  new  cathedral  of  Alexander  Nevsky,  just  com- 
pleted at  a  cost  of  one  and  one-fourth  million  dol- 
lars, is  the  most  important  building  in  the  city.  It 
was  erected  as  a  memorial  to  Russian  valour  in  the 
war  of  liberation.  It  is  built  in  the  Russian-By- 
zantine style.  The  general  details  of  the  church,  such 
as  the  large  central  dome  and  many  of  the  smaller 
bulbous  domes,  are  distinctly  Russian.  The  domes 
arc  gilded  and  produce  a  rather  fierce  and  dazzling 
effect.  The  facade  is  of  local  white  stone,  and  the 
marbles  used  in  the  interior  decorations  were 
brought  from  Italy,  Brazil,  and  Africa.  Quantities 
of  Mexican  onyx  were  also  used  in  the  decoration 
of  the  anterior. 


Sofia,  the  Modern  Capital  345 

A  Russian,  Professor  Pomerantzeff,  was  the  chief 
architect,  and  the  interior  decorations  were  en- 
trusted to  Russian  and  Bulgarian  artists.  The  walls 
and  domes  of  the  interior  are  covered  with  paint- 
ings of  Scriptural  and  historical  subjects  and  the 
chapels  are  ornate  with  mosaics  and  paintings.  The 
thrones  for  the  bishop  and  the  king  are  especially 
rich  in  ornaments.  One  feels,  however,  a  lack  of 
intimate  relation  behind  the  forces  that  produced 
the  great  and  costly  cathedral  —  architect,  artists, 
decorators,  and  building  commission.  Divided  re- 
sponsibility must  account  for  some  of  the  ill-ad- 
justed relations.  Instead  of  farming  out  the  inte- 
rior decorations  to  a  considerable  number  of  Bul- 
garian and  Russian  artists,  it  probably  would  have 
been  better  to  have  placed  the  matter  in  the  hands 
of  one  artist  and  held  him  responsible  for  the  har- 
monizing of  details. 

The  paintings  by  Bulgarian  artists  are  the  best 
in  the  cathedral.  There  are  some  notable  paintings 
by  Mirkvicka,  such  as  "  The  seven  saints  to  the 
Slavs,"  "  The  Virgin  and  Child,"  "  The  prophets 
Moses  and  Aaron,"  ''  The  contest  of  Christ  and  the 
devil,"  **  God  the  Father,"  and  ''  Christ  in  the  Tem- 
ple." Mi  toff  also  has  done  some  highly  creditable 
work  in  the  new  cathedral.  Among  his  paintings 
are  Saints  Kyril,  Method,  and  Boris,  the  Patri- 
arch Eftmi,  ''  Ivan  Rilsky,"  and  '*  Maria  and  the 
Child."  The  frescoes  over  the  right  altar  are  by 
Mitoff,  and  the  mosaics  of  the  king's  throne  were 
made  from  his  drawings.  "  Christ  with  the  Poor," 
**  St.  George,"  and  several  other  saints  are  the  work 


346  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

of  Stefan  Ivanoff.  There  is  an  interesting  series 
of  holy  men  by  Malinoff,  Petroff,  Berberoff,  and 
Mihailoff. 

The  Bulgarian  National  Theatre,  the  home  of 
opera  and  drama,  is  a  handsome  modern  structure 
erected  at  a  cost  of  four  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
It  has  a  competent  corps  of  actors  and  singers  and 
produces  standard  works  by  native  and  foreign 
dramatic  and  music  composers.  The  theatre  re- 
ceives an  annual  appropriation  from  the  national 
government. 

Two  other  recent  public  buildings  are  the  palace 
of  the  Holy  Synod  and  the  public  bath,  both  the 
work  of  the  Bulgarian  architect  Momtchiloff.  All 
the  decorations  in  the  Holy  Synod  are  the  work  of 
Bulgarian  artists  —  Mirkvicka,  Mitoff,  and  Iva- 
noff. Besides  the  paintings,  there  are  some  fine 
wood  carvings  and  tapestries  in  the  palace  of  the 
Holy  Synod  by  native  artisans. 

The  new  public  bath  at  Sofia  is  the  finest  insti- 
tution of  its  land  in  the  world.  It  was  erected  at  a 
cost  of  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  over  a  hot 
spring  that  has  been  famed  for  its  mineral  prop- 
erties since  the  days  of  the  Romans.  The  tempera- 
ture of  the  water  as  it  comes  from  the  ground  is 
117  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  bath  is  not  only  a 
handsome  structure  in  the  Byzantine  style  of  archi- 
tecture, but  its  equipment  is  modern  and  commodi- 
ous. 

The  new  post-office  is  the  work  of  the  Bulgarian 
architect  Jordan  Malinoff,  who  has  also  planned 
many  of  the  fine  private  residences  of  Sofia.     He 


ALEXA>fDER    NBVSKY    CATHEDRAL. 


lUJUiAlllAN     NATIONAL    TUEATUK. 


Sofia,  the  Modern  Capital  347 

was  the  president  of  the  commission  that  had  charge 
of  the  cathedral  of  Alexander  Nevsky.  The  cham- 
ber of  commerce  is  the  work  of  the  Bulgarian  archi- 
tect Fingoff.  The  Bulgarian  Agricultural  Bank  is 
an  attractive  modern  huilding.  It  has  interesting 
mural  paintings  in  the  council  chamber  by  Mir- 
kvicka  and  Mitoff.  Tlie  sobranje,  or  parliament 
house,  is  one  of  the  older  buildings  of  the  capital, 
but  it  produces  a  good  effect.  The  academy  of  arts 
when  completed  will  be  one  of  the  striking  public 
buildings  of  the  capital,  and  costly  new  university 
buildings  are  shortly  to  be  erected. 

In  the  public  square  in  front  of  the  sobranje  is 
the  handsome  equestrian  statue  of  the  Tsar  Lib- 
erator, Alexander  II  of  Eussia,  to  whom  Bulgaria 
pays  willing  homage.  Among  other  monuments  at 
the  capital  is  one  erected  in  memory  of  Vassil  Lev- 
sky,  a  Bulgarian  patriot,  executed  by  the  Turks  in 
1873,  and  another  commemorating  the  services  of 
the  physicians  and  surgeons  who  fell  in  the  Russo- 
Turkish  war  of  1877-78. 

There  is  a  small  but  attractive  public  garden  in 
the  heart  of  the  city,  and  a  larger  public  garden  in 
the  suburbs,  with  its  fine  acacias,  its  fountain,  and 
its  miniature  lake.  The  lion's  bridge  spanning  the 
river  that  flows  through  the  city  is  an  interesting 
piece  of  work.  The  city  is  well  drained;  it  has  an 
excellent  water  supply  that  is  brouglit  from  Mount 
Vitosha;  there  are  several  broad  and  attractive 
avenues,  and  all  the  thoroughfares  are  well  lighted. 

Sofia  is  situated  on  a  rolling  upland  plain  that 
is  encompassed  in  every  direction  by  lofty  mountain 


348  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

ranges.  Its  elevation  is  1,700  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea.  The  plateau  on  which  the  city  is  built 
extends  for  miles  in  all  directions,  thus  affording 
infinite  space  for  expansion.  The  dilapidated  Turk- 
ish town  of  twenty-five  thousand  inhabitants  has 
grown  in  a  quarter  of  a  century'  to  a  handsome  city 
of  one  hundred  five  thousand  inhabitants.  In  the 
suburbs  of  the  cit)^  are  breweries,  sugar-refineries, 
and  cotton  mills  and  silk  mills.  The  climate  of  the 
city  is  healthful;  and,  overlooking  the  plain  on 
which  it  is  located,  is  the  superb  peak  of  Mount 
Vitosha. 


CHAPTER    XXV 

OTHER   CITIES    AND    TOWNS 

Philippopolia,  the  capital  of  Eastern  Rumelia  —  Principal  quarters 
in  the  citj'  —  Nature  of  the  population  —  Rustchuk  —  Tirnovo, 
the  ancient  capital  —  Historic  church  of  the  Forty  Martyrs  — 
Recent  destruction  of  the  city  by  an  earthquake  —  Varna  —  Bur- 
gas—  Shumen  —  Stara  Zagora,  Sliven,  and  Kazanlik — Dubnitza 
—  Samokov  —  Rilo. 

PniLippopoLis  (Plovdiv),  the  capital  of  Eastern 
Rumelia  before  the  two  Bulgarias  were  united,  is 
the  second  city  of  importance  in  the  kingdom.  It 
is  situated  in  the  valley  of  the  Maritza  in  the  midst 
of  a  vast  fertile  plain  that  stretches  between  the 
Balkans  and  the  Rhodope  mountains.  Isolated 
crags  emerge  from  the  plain  to  the  south  of  the 
city.  Here  and  there  the  monotony  of  the  plain  is 
broken  by  the  mammoth  mounds  scattered  through 
the  valley  that  mark  the  burial-places  of  ancient 
warriors. 

The  city  is  built  on  three  granite  eminences  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Maritza.  There  are  many 
comfortable  homes  on  the  hills  built  at  all  angles  on 
the  rocks.  It  is  a  very  old  city,  having  been  cap- 
tured and  re-christened  by  Philip  of  Macedon  in 
842  B.  c.  The  Franks  held  it  from  1204  to  1235.  It 
was  occupied  by  the  Turks  in  1363;  was  destroyed 
by  an  earthquake  in  1818  and  suffered  by  a  fire  in 
1846.  It  enjoyed  a  brief  period  of  independent  ex- 
istence from  1878  to  1885. 

349 


350  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

The  principal  quarters  of  the  city  nestle  between 
two  crags,  and  from  this  centre  it  stretches  in  all 
directions  into  the  plain.  There  are  many  well- 
built  houses  in  the  older  part  of  the  city.  The  great 
mosque  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  is  the  centre  of  the 
industrial  life.  The  broad  avenue  that  leads  from 
the  railway  station  to  the  town  is  lined  with  sub- 
stantial residences.  The  old  national  assembly 
house  has  been  converted  into  a  public  library.  It 
has  a  collection  of  forty  thousand  books.  The  city 
has  an  excellent  water  system,  the  water  being 
brought  from  the  Rhodope  mountains,  ten  miles 
distant. 

An  exhibition  park  was  laid  out  in  1892.  Near  by 
is  the  fine  Djumaja  mosque.  On  one  of  the  hills 
is  a  monument  erected  by  the  Russians  in  com- 
memoration of  the  war  of  1877-78,  and  one  of  the 
other  hills  is  crowned  with  a  clock  tower.  There  are 
numerous  churches,  schools,  and  colleges.  The  city 
has  forty-eight  thousand  inhabitants,  most  of  whom 
are  Bulgarians.  There  are,  however,  small  colonies 
of  Greeks,  Turks,  Armenians,  Jews,  and  gypsies  in 
the  city.  There  are  about  four  thousand  Catholics 
at  Philippopolis.  They  are  under  the  charge  of 
parish  priests.  There  is  a  Catholic  college  that  is 
conducted  by  a  French  teaching  order,  and  a  hospital 
under  the  direction  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  of 
Agram.  The  orchards  of  Dermendere  are  near  by, 
and  not  very  distant  is  the  ancient  Orthodox  mon- 
astery of  Bachkovo. 

Rustchuk,  on  the  Danube,  is  the  largest  city  in 
northern  Bulgaria.     It  has  forty-six  thousand  in- 


other  Cities  and  Towns  351 

habitants  and  is  growing  rapidl3\  In  the  Turkish 
days  it  was  a  squalid  village  with  a  small  European 
quarter  facing  the  river.  It  is  to-day  a  handsome 
city  and  teems  with  commercial  activity.  It  has 
broad  and  well-paved  streets  that  are  lined  with 
shops,  banks,  schools,  and  public  buildings.  It  has 
factories  for  the  manufacture  of  tobacco,  soap, 
spirits,  and  pottery,  and  it  is  the  chief  wheat  market 
in  the  country.  Besides  being  the  chief  Danube 
river  port,  it  is  an  important  centre  for  traffic  by 
rail. 

Rustchuk  was  a  city  in  Roman  days.  It  was  des- 
troyed by  the  barbarians  in  the  seventh  century. 
The  Russians  occupied  it  twice  before  it  was  finally 
recovered  from  the  Turks  —  in  the  Russo-Turkish 
wars  of  1828-29  and  1853-54.  It  was  a  fortified  city 
down  to  1878. 

Tirnovo  is  the  capital  of  the  old  Bulgarian  king- 
dom. It  is  situated  on  the  Yantra  river  as  it  leaves 
the  mountains  and  winds  through  an  amphitheatre 
of  steep  bluffs  on  which  the  city  is  built.  During 
the  Asen  dynasty  Tirnovo  was  one  of  the  chief  cities 
of  Europe.  No  other  place  in  Bulgaria  is  so  inti- 
mately associated  with  the  life  of  the  nation.  Leg- 
ends tell  us  that  it  was  built  by  the  hands  of  giants. 
For  several  centuries  it  rivalled  Constantinople. 
"  It  witnessed  the  rise  of  Shislnnan  and  his  doughty 
line.  Within  its  walls  Asen  received  the  crown  from 
the  hands  of  the  people ;  and  in  its  modest  inn  the 
ill-starred  Stamboloff,  the  ablest  modern  Bulgarian 
statesman,  first  saw  the  light.  Here  were  the  palace 
of  the  tsars  and  the  residence  of  the  head  of  the 


352  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Bulgarian  church ;  here  too  was  the  great  cathedral, 
long  since  gone." 

The  historic  church  of  the  Forty  Martyrs,  des- 
troyed the  24th  of  June,  1913,  by  a  terrible  earth- 
quake, was  the  burial-place  of  the  tsars.  The  church 
was  built  by  Tsar  Ivan  Asen  II  in  1230.  An  inscrip- 
tion in  the  church  gives  this  chronicle  of  the  found- 
er's conquests:  "  In  the  year  1230,  I,  Ivan  Asen, 
Tsar  and  Autocrat  of  the  Bulgarians,  obedient  to 
God  in  Christ,  son  of  the  old  Asen,  have  built  this 
most  worthy  church  from  its  foundations,  and  com- 
pletely decked  it  with  paintings  in  honour  of  the 
forty  holy  martyrs,  by  whose  help,  in  the  12th  year 
of  my  reign,  when  the  church  had  just  been  painted, 
I  set  out  to  Rumania  to  the  war  and  smote  the  Greek 
army  and  took  captive  the  Emperor  Theodore  Kora- 
nenus  with  all  his  nobles.  I  have  conquered  all  the 
land  from  Adrianople  to  Durazzo,  the  Greek,  the 
Albanian,  and  the  Servian  lands.  Only  the  towns 
round  Constantinople  and  that  city  did  the  Franks 
hold;  but  these  too  bowed  themselves  beneath  the 
hand  of  my  sovereignty,  for  they  had  no  other  tsar 
but  me,  and  prolonged  their  days  according  to  my 
will,  as  God  so  ordained.  For  without  Him  no  word 
or  work  is  accomplished.  To  Him  be  honour  for 
ever." 

Tirnovo  was  the  capital  of  Bulgaria  from  1186 
until  it  was  captured  by  the  Turks  the  17th  of  July, 
1394.  It  was  occupied  by  the  Russians  in  1877.  All 
the  sessions  of  the  grand  sobranje  have  been  held 
here.  Here  King  Ferdinand  was  crowned  and  here 
Prince  Boris  was  initiated  into  the  faith  of  the  na- 


RUSTCHUK. 


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other  Cities  and  Towns  353 

tional  Orthodox  cliiircli.  Here  Count  Baldwin,  who 
was  elected  to  the  imperial  throne  of  Constantinople 
by  the  crusaders,  was  imprisoned  in  1205  by  the 
Bulgarian  ruler  Kaloyan.  He  was  imprisoned  in 
one  of  the  towers  of  the  city  that  is  still  known  as 
Baldwin's  tower,  but  the  fate  of  the  Frank  emperor 
is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  history. 

There  are  numerous  ancient  remains,  many  of 
which  were  badly  damaged  by  the  recent  earthquake, 
which  completely  destroyed  parts  of  the  cities  of 
Tirnovo,  Gornia-Orechovitza,  and  Lcskovetz.  Be- 
sides the  destruction  of  many  of  the  most  important 
ancient  and  modern  buildings  in  the  old  capital,  two 
hundred  persons  were  killed  and  six  hundred 
wounded.  The  greatest  loss  was  the  church  of  the 
Forty  Martyrs.  It  contained  the  most  ancient  and 
valuable  historical  relics  relating  to  the  origin  and 
rise  of  the  Bulgarian  people. 

Bulgaria  has  two  seaports  on  the  Black  sea  — 
Varna  and  Burgas.  "While  the  transformation  of 
Varna  has  been  less  rapid  than  at  Bustchuk,  there 
have  been  many  improvements  during  the  last  fif- 
teen years.  The  government  has  built  at  consider- 
able cost  a  breakwater  that  permits  vessels  to  lie  at 
anchor  within  the  bay  with  safety.  Quays  have  also 
been  constructed  so  that  ships  of  large  burden  may 
load  and  unload  without  employing  lighters. 

The  city  has  a  large  export  trade  in  wheat,  cattle, 
dairy  products,  and  lumber.  The  vineyards  in  the 
neighbourhood  produce  considerable  wine,  and  there 
are  tanneries,  breweries,  and  cloth  factories  in  the 
city  and  suburbs. 


354  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Near  by  is  the  chateau  of  Euxinograd,  one  of  the 
residences  of  King  Ferdinand.  The  chateau  itself 
possesses  little  architectural  interest;  but  it  is  sit- 
uated on  a  siglitly  cliff  overlooking  the  Black  sea 
and  is  surrounded  by  parks  and  gardens  constructed 
after  the  models  of  those  at  Versailles  and  St.  Cloud 
in  France.  The  chateau  contains  a  considerable 
collection  of  paintings.  An  immense  aviary  is  one 
of  the  features  of  the  grounds. 

Burgas  is  at  the  head  of  a  gulf  with  the  same 
name.  It  is  built  on  a  low  foreland  between  lagoons. 
It  has  a  fine  harbour  five  fathoms  deep,  and  large 
vessels  may  enter  without  difficulty.  Behind  the 
town  is  Sozopolis,  the  ancient  Appolonia,  perched 
high  on  a  picturesque  rock  and  encircled  by  undu- 
lating downs.  The  seaport  is  surrounded  by  vil- 
lages, vineyards,  and  fertile  plains. 

Shumcn,  fifty  miles  west  of  Varna,  is  built  in  a 
rugged  ravine  within  a  cluster  of  hills.  A  broad 
street  and  a  rivulet  divide  the  upper  and  the  lower 
quarters  of  the  towTi.  In  the  upper  part  is  the  mag- 
nificent mausoleum  of  the  Turkish  pasha,  Jezairli- 
Hassan,  wlio  enlarged  the  fortifications  during  the 
eighteenth  century.  Silks,  embroideries,  and  copper 
and  tin  wares  are  manufactured  in  the  town.  There 
is  also  a  large  trade  in  wine  and  grain.  Shumen 
was  burned  by  the  Emperor  Nicephorus  in  the  year 
811 ;  it  was  besieged  by  Alexius  I  in  1087  and  sur- 
rendered to  the  Turks  in  1388. 

Stara  Zagora,  Sliven,  and  Kazanlik  are  also  grow- 
ing towns.  Plevna,  on  the  banks  of  the  Tutchinitza, 
a  branch  of  the  Vid,  is  situated  in  a  plain  that  is 


other  Cities  and  Towns  355 

surrounded  by  a  series  of  hills  a  few  hundred  feet 
in  elevation.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Russo-Turkish 
war  the  town  was  occupied  by  sixty  thousand  Otto- 
man troops.  It  was  besieged  for  five  months  and 
surrendered  the  10th  of  December,  1877;  but  fifty 
thousand  Russian  troops  were  sacrificed  in  its  cap- 
ture. Plevna  has  many  handsome  modem  buildings, 
including  a  town  hall,  schools,  and  a  memorial 
church  built  with  materials  captured  from  the  con- 
quered Turks.  In  the  suburbs  is  the  Skobeleff  park 
and  public  gardens. 

Dubnitza  is  a  town  of  ten  thousand  inhabitants. 
It  is  the  birthplace  of  Yani  Sandansky,  the  Mace- 
donian brigand  who  captured  Miss  Stone,  an  Amer- 
ican missionary,  and  held  her  for  a  ransom  of  sixty 
thousand  dollars.  It  is  a  picturesque  town,  many 
of  the  buildings  being  made  of  lathes  that  are  filled 
in  and  covered  over  with  mud,  after  which  they  are 
given  a  coat  of  blue  or  pink  whitewash.  It  has  an 
imposing  Orthodox  church  surrounded  by  granite 
pillars,  and  the  ruins  of  a  mosque  that  was  destroyed 
in  the  Russo-Turkish  war.  The  gypsy  quarter  is 
composed  of  one-roomed  huts,  but  the  brown-skinned 
nomads  lend  colour  to  the  squalor  of  the  hovels. 
Dubnitza  is  in  the  centre  of  a  rich  tobacco  dis- 
trict. 

Samokov,  a  town  of  ten  thousand  inhabitants,  is 
located  on  the  slopes  of  the  Rilo  mountains  near  the 
headwaters  of  the  Isker  river  at  an  elevation  of 
3,075  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  In  ancient 
times  it  was  the  centre  of  the  iron  industry,  but  the 
mines  are  no  longer  worked.    Here  are  located  the 


356  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

schools  and  missions  that  direct  the  educational  and 
religious  activities  of  the  American  Board  of  For- 
eign Missions  of  the  Congregational  Church.  An 
account  of  these  schools  is  given  elsewhere  in  this 
work. 

A  mountain  trail  leads  from  Samokov  to  the  Rilo 
monastery,  which  is  perched  high  in  the  mountains 
in  a  narrow  gorge  that  is  guarded  by  a  natural  gate- 
way of  rocks.  The  monastery  is  half  palace  and 
half  fortress.  The  building  is  an  irregular  penta- 
gon with  a  number  of  galleries  that  extend  around 
it  and  open  into  a  great  court.  The  corridors  are 
supported  by  stone  arches  which  rise  tier  upon  tier 
and  form  a  series  of  picturesque  arcades.  The  top- 
most gallery  forms  a  veranda  beneath  a  projecting 
roof  resting  on  great  oak  beams.  The  masonry  of 
the  buildings  is  white  and  red.  In  the  centre  of  the 
court  is  the  gaudy  Byzantine  church,  the  most  bril- 
liant and  variegated  of  the  buildings.  Its  alcoves 
are  filled  with  gorgeous  frescoes.  Near  the  church 
is  an  ancient  and  majestic  tower,  the  oldest  existing 
part  of  the  monastery. 

The  interior  of  the  church  contains  the  body  of 
St.  John  of  Kilo  (Ivan  Rilsky),  the  founder  of  the 
monastery.  The  body  is  encased  in  gold  leaf.  One 
arm  of  the  saint  is  visible  for  the  adoration  of  de- 
vout pilgrims.  The  crude  and  weird  frescoes  that 
adorn  the  walls  of  the  church  represent  gruesome 
scenes  that  depict  the  terrors  of  hell  in  truly  Ortho- 
dox fervour.  One  of  the  frescoes  represents  the  day 
of  judgment.  At  the  top  sits  God  the  Father  with 
Christ  and  the  Virgin.     Groups  of  saints  stand  on 


other  Cities  and  Towns  357 

the  clouds  that  are  lloating  tlirough  the  air.  Heaven 
is  represented  as  a  court-yard,  and  the  twelve 
apostles  stand  at  the  gate,  Peter  opening  the  portal 
with  his  great  key.  On  another  wall  one  gets  a  good 
notion  of  culture  and  ethics  in  the  Balkans  during 
the  middle  ages.  Bulgarian  rulers  and  saints  are 
surrounded  by  angels,  and  below  them  the  damned 
are  suffering  all  the  torments  of  hell.  Brigands,  im- 
postors, law-breakers,  fraudulent  shopkeepers,  dis- 
honest millers,  and  the  unchaste  are  suffering  pun- 
ishments appropriate  to  their  transgressions. 

In  the  ancient  tower  mass  is  celebrated  once  a 
month;  and  down  in  its  dark  dungeons  the  rings 
to  which  the  insane  were  chained  may  still  be  seen. 
Here,  in  the  dark  ages  of  the  history  of  lunacy,  these 
unfortunates  were  allowed  to  beat  out  their  brains. 
The  library  of  the  monaster^'  is  rich  in  ecclesias- 
tical manuscripts,  books,  and  relics.  Ten  thousand 
pilgrims  may  be  entertained  in  the  rooms  of  the  vast 
dormitories  tliat  surround  the  court.  The  stables 
will  accommodate  a  thousand  horses,  and  there  are 
outbuildings  for  the  various  crafts  essential  to  the 
life  of  tlie  monastery. 

There  is  a  grotto  in  the  rocks  near  the  monastery 
that  is  pointed  out  as  the  site  of  the  original  chapel 
of  the  founder.  Through  this  narrow  grotto  i)ious 
pilgrims  make  their  way.  It  is  a  difficult  feat,  even 
for  those  with  slender  bodies;  but  it  is  the  belief  of 
the  devout  that  only  sinners  get  caught  in  the  crev- 
ice. The  monastery  suffered  greatly  during  the  cen- 
turies of  Turkish  rule.  It  stood  innumerable  sieges. 
Several  times  it  was  almost  completely  destroyed 


358  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 


by  fire.  It  was  often  captured  by  brigands,  who 
exacted  heavy  ransoms  from  the  monks.  As  the 
home  of  Slavic  culture  it  suffered  frightful  perse- 
cution at  the  hands  of  the  intolerant  Greek  church. 


CHAPTER    XXVI 

THE   BULGARS    OF    MACEDONIA 

Why  Macedonia  waa  given  back  to  the  Turks  after  the  Rusao-Turkish 
war  —  Revolt  in  the  Struma  valley  —  Organization  of  the  komi- 
tadjis —  Revolution  of  1902  —  How  it  was  suppressed  by  the  Turks 

—  The  wrecking  of  the  bank  at  Salonika  —  Capture  of  Miss  Stone 

—  Economic  conditions  in  Macedonia  —  Methods  of  leasing  the 
land  —  Physical  and  mental  characteristics  of  the  Bulgars  of  Mace- 
donia. 

It  was  the  fear  of  England  that  Bulgaria  would 
be  a  mere  vassal  of  Russia  that  tore  up  the  treaty 
of  San  Stefano  and  brought  to  an  end  the  momen- 
tary and  elusive  hope  of  the  Macedonian  people  that 
they  were  to  be  liberated  from  centuries  of  Turkish 
oppression.  The  treaty  of  Berlin  decreed  that  they 
must  return  to  the  Ottoman  yoke.  ''  There  is  no 
reason  in  the  history  or  nature  of  things,"  remarks 
Mr.  Brailsford  in  his  authoritative  work  on  Mace- 
donia, "  why  these  two  regions  should  have  been 
subjected  to  such  different  fates.  In  both  the  pop- 
ulation is  predominantly  Slavic,  and  in  both  there 
is  a  minority  of  Turks  and  Greeks.  Both  took  up 
arms  to  cooperate  with  the  liberating  Russian  in- 
vader. Both  had  revolted  from  the  Greek  form  of 
Orthodoxy  and  freely  joined  the  Bulgarian  exar- 
chist  church."  * 

In  the  Struma  valley  the  people  revolted  and 
seized  the  mountain  passes.    But  Europe  had  given 

'  Maccdnnin:  its  Rnccs'and  their  Future  Bv  Hcnrv  N.  Brailsford. 
London,  190G,  pp.  340. 

359 


360 Bulgaria  and  Her  People 


its  decision.  The  Macedonian  Bulgars  must  con- 
tinue to  endure  the  oppression  of  their  Turkish  mas- 
ters. The  revolting  Macedonians  were  forced  to 
submit  to  the  decrees  of  the  great  powers.  But  they 
endured  their  fate  sullenly.  They  turned  their  at- 
tention to  education  and  sought  to  solve  the  prob- 
lem of  political  servitude  by  intellectual  develop- 
ment. Education  made  them  even  more  conscious 
of  the  evils  of  the  Ottoman  political  system  and 
its  enfeebling  and  crushing  social  organism. 

Fifteen  years  after  the  signing  of  the  Berlin 
treaty  there  was  initiated  by  the  Macedonia  komi- 
tadjis  a  revolutionary  movement  with  the  ultimate 
object  of  the  freedom  of  the  country  from  Turkish 
rule.  From  this  date  down  to  the  formation  of  the 
Balkan  league  (1912),  the  komitadjis  waged  a  jSerce 
guerilla  warfare  with  knife,  revolver,  and  bomb. 
Students,  teachers,  college  professors,  lawyers,  phy- 
sicians, and  merchants  to  the  number  of  twelve  thou- 
sand were  enrolled  in  the  ranks  of  the  komitadjis 
during  the  twenty  years  of  its  active  operations. 
Major  Panitza,  who  distinguished  himself  in  the 
Servian  war;  General  NikolaieflP,  who  later  served 
in  the  Bulgarian  cabinet  in  the  Malinoff  ministry; 
Traiko  Kikantscheff,  a  gifted  man  of  letters;  Da- 
mian  Grueff  and  Yani  Sandansky,  distinguished 
schoolmasters ;  Christo  Tatarcheff,  a  leading  physi- 
cian, and  other  men  of  eminence  were  leaders  in 
the  revolutionary  movement.^ 

^  For  an  excellent  popular  account  of  the  work  of  the  komitadjis, 
see  Confessions  of  a  Macedonian  Bandit  by  Albert  Sonnichsen  (New 
York,  1909).  Mr.  Sonnichsen  is  an  American  man  of  letters  who  was 
connected  with  the  work  of  the  komitadjis  for  several  years. 


The  Bulgars  of  Macedonia  361 

The  great  powers  of  Europe  had  obligated  them- 
selves by  the  conditions  of  the  treaty  of  Berlin  to 
protect  the  Christian  races  in  Macedonia;  but  the 
scores  of  piteous  appeals  sent  to  them  met  with  no 
response.  In  the  autumn  of  1902  General  Tzoncheff, 
at  the  head  of  one  branch  of  the  Macedonian  komi- 
tadjis,  proclaimed  a  general  uprising  against  Tur- 
key. With  a  force  of  about  four  hundred  men  he 
carried  on  a  gallant  guerilla  campaign  for  a  month 
in  the  region  of  Djumaia  and  the  Raslog.  The 
enterprise  did  not  receive  the  sanction  of  the  united 
revolutionary  committee  and  had  to  be  given  up. 
General  Tzoncheff  and  his  band  returned  to  Bul- 
garia, and  the  peasants,  who  had  taken  little  part 
in  the  uprising,  were  left  to  bear  the  brunt  of  Turk- 
ish vengeance. 

Mr.  Henry  N.  Brailsford,  who  visited  the  region 
shortly  afterwards  to  distribute  relief  among  the 
victims  of  Ottoman  vengeance  for  the  adventure, 
says  that  there  was  wholesale  beating  of  the  peas- 
ants, some  torture,  some  violation  of  women,  and 
some  burning  of  houses.  The  terror  that  the  Turks 
established  in  the  district  was  general  enough  and 
serious  enough  to  drive  three  thousand  peasants 
in  the  rigour  of  a  Balkan  winter  across  the  moun- 
tains of  the  frontier  into  the  kindly  refuge  of  Bul- 
garia. Mr.  Brailsford  writes:  "  Although  the  in- 
ternal organization  (of  the  komitadjis)  had  no  share 
in  these  events,  and  tried  to  frustrate  General  Tzon- 
cheff's  wild  enterprise,  the  Turks  made  no  nice  dis- 
tinctions, and  all  over  Macedonia  the  burden  of  the 
Turkish  yoke  grew  heavier.    Villages  were  searched 


362  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

for  arms,  which  means  that  all  the  peasants  were 
beaten  and  tortured  until  they  produced  them,  and 
if  they  really  possessed  no  rifle  they  were  often 
constrained  to  buy  one  m  order  to  surrender  it  to 
the  Turks." 

The  uprising  in  the  Djumaia  and  Easlog  districts 
had  the  effect  of  calling  the  attention  of  the  great 
powers  to  the  serious  nature  of  the  Macedonian 
question.  The  powers,  however,  took  the  fatal  step 
of  allowing  two  interested  members  of  the  concert 
—  Austria  and  Russia  —  to  manage  the  affair  as 
they  pleased.  The  sultan  of  Turkey,  anticipating 
intervention  on  the  part  of  the  powers,  announced 
reforms  of  his  own.  But  the  reform  measures  of 
both  Austria  and  Russia  and  of  the  sultan  of  Tur- 
key remained  dead  letters.  Their  sole  effect,  writes 
Mr.  Brailsford,  ''  was  to  convince  the  Bulgarians 
that  Europe  would  do  nothing  without  some  power- 
ful stimulus,  some  bloody  and  sensational  object- 
lesson,  which  would  convince  her  that  the  misman- 
agement of  Macedonia  is  an  evil  which  calls  for 
drastic  remedy.  But  what  form  should  that  object- 
lesson  take?  Petitions,  deputations,  notes  of  pro- 
test and  appeal  from  the  friendly  Bulgarian  govern- 
ment attract  no  attention  whatever.  Partial  revolts 
and  brutal  repressions  result  in  nothing  more  than 
futile  remonstrance  and  feeble  counsels  of  reform. 
Europe  acts  with  energy  only  when  the  lives  and 
property  of  her  own  subjects  are  endangered.  Then 
indeed  the  ironclads  move,  and  the  spectacle  of 
cleared  decks  induces  the  sultan  to  yield  to  superior 
force.     The  younger  men   among  the  Macedonian 


The  Bulgars  of  Macedonia  363 

extremists  were  full  of  this  idea,  and  wild  plans  for 
attacking  the  railways  and  the  consulates  were  in 
the  air.  It  was  thought  that  if  the  insurgents  could 
create  a  state  of  anarchy  dangerous  to  European 
capital  the  concert  would  intervene." 

Two  episodes  in  the  plans  of  the  extremist  wing 
of  the  komitadjis  may  be  mentioned  in  this  connec- 
tion —  the  effort  to  destroy  the  Ottoman  bank  at 
Salonika  and  the  capture  of  Miss  Ellen  M.  Stone, 
an  American  missionary.  The  Ottoman  bank  at 
Salonika  represented  European  capital.  The  rev- 
olutionists opened  a  small  grocer's  shop  beside  the 
bank.  Steadily  but  secretly  they  mined  under  the 
bank  for  weeks,  carrying  away  the  earth  from  the 
tunnel  in  paper  bags.  The  Turks  had  been  warned 
of  what  was  going  on,  but  "  nothing  could  induce 
them  to  interfere,  and  the  inference  is  either  that 
they  were  bribed  or  that  they  were  clear-sighted 
enough  and  Machiavellian  enough  to  allow  the  Bul- 
garians to  discredit  themselves  in  the  eyes  of  Eu- 
rope." 

The  bank  was  blowm  up  in  April,  1903.  Salonika 
was  plunged  into  panic  and  bombs  were  thrown  at 
a  number  of  public  buildings  without  success.  A 
French  steamer  in  the  bay  was  wrecked.  Most  of 
the  revolutionists  were  killed,  either  in  resisting 
arrest  or  by  their  own  bombs.  A  massacre  was 
averted  by  the  energy  of  the  Turkish  vali,  who  man- 
aged to  utilize  and  control  his  troops  before  more 
than  sixty  Christians  had  been  done  to  death.  This 
outrage  shocked  Europe  and  alienated  the  sympa- 
thies of  the  great  powers,  who  were  directly  re- 


364  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

sponsible  for  the  conditions  that  made  possible  the 
acts  of  the  terrorists.  It  was  a  grim  commentary 
on  the  indifference  of  Europe.  The  measures  which 
the  Turkish  officials  adopted  to  suppress  the  komi- 
tadjis  were  drastic  and  wholesale.  All  the  notables 
in  the  Bulgarian  towns  of  Macedonia  were  thrown 
into  prison.  Schools  were  closed  because  the  teach- 
ers that  had  not  been  herded  into  filthy  Turkish 
jails  had  fled  to  escape  arrest.  Practically  all  the 
educated  Bulgars  in  Macedonia  were  placed  under 
arrest.  Towns  were  in  a  state  of  siege,  Turkish 
soldiers  patrolled  the  streets,  and  the  Bulgarian 
inhabitants  were  forbidden  to  stir  abroad  after  sun- 
down. The  entire  male  Moslem  popidation  were 
called  to  the  colours,  reenforced  by  ragged  Ottoman 
regiments  from  Asia  Minor  and  undisciplined  levies 
from  Albania. 

The  author  visited  during  the  summer  of  1913 
Yani  Sandansky,  the  Macedonian  brigand  and  rev- 
olutionary, who  was  responsible  for  the  capture  of 
Miss  Stone,  the  American  missionary.  Sandansky 
was  a  school-teacher  before  he  joined  the  brigands. 
He  had  been  condemned  to  death  by  the  courts  of 
Bulgaria.  The  revolutionary  band  with  which  San- 
dansky was  connected  was  greatly  in  need  of  money 
to  carry  on  its  work.  It  was  felt,  moreover,  that 
the  capture  of  a  prominent  European  would  call 
attention  to  the  conditions  that  existed  in  Mace- 
donia. *'  Here  were  Turkish  regular  soldiers  and 
irregular  bashi-bozouks,"  said  Sandansky  to  the 
author,  "  carrying  off  our  wives  and  daughters 
daily;    and  although  we  had  acquainted  the  great 


The  Bulgars  of  Macedonia  365 

powers  of  the  outrages  again  and  again,  a  deaf  ear 
was  turned  to  our  appeals.  We  thought  we  would 
see  just  how  Europe  might  take  the  matter  if  we 
carried  off  one  of  your  women."  Miss  Stone  was 
captured  at  Bansko  by  Yani  Sandansky,  Christo 
Tchenopaeff,  and  Krusty  Bulgarias.  With  a  com- 
panion, Mrs.  Gregory  M.  Tsilka,  she  was  held  in 
captivity  in  the  mountains  for  six  months.  The 
original  ransom  demanded  by  her  captors  was  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars.  She  was 
finally  released  for  sixty  thousand  dollars,  a  sum 
that  had  been  raised  by  American  friends  of  mission 
work.  It  was  the  belief  of  Sandansky  and  his 
colleagues  that  the  Turkish  government  would 
promptly  pay  the  ransom  to  avoid  complications 
with  the  United  States  and  the  great  powers  of 
Europe.^ 

Economic  as  well  as  political  matters  grew  worse 
rather  than  better  after  the  treaty  of  Berlin ;  for 
the  hand  of  the  Turk  was  always  raised  against  the 
intellectuals  in  Macedonia ;  and  the  social  and  eco- 
nomic conditions  of  the  Christian  farmers  steadily 
deteriorated.  The  economic  servitude  of  the  Chris- 
tians as  conquered  peoples  had  always  been  an 
axiom  of  the  Turkish  mind.  The  administrative 
efforts  after  1878  tended  to  make  the  Christian  races 
feel  the  weight  of  this  servitude,  and  all  the  officers 
of  the  Ottoman  government,  from  the  highest  func- 
tionaries to  the  humblest  \dllage  policemen,  worked 


^  For  Mis8  Stone's  account  of  her  captivity,  see  her  series  of  articles 
entitled  "  Six  Months  Among  Brigands "  in  McClure's  Magazine, 
June  to  October,  1902,  Vol.  19. 


366  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

towards  that  end.  The  means  might  vary,  but  the 
result  was  always  the  same  —  the  impoverishment 
of  the  Christians.  It  was  a  regular  system,  skil- 
fully planned  and  skilfully  executed. 

The  economic  state  of  the  Christian  races  in 
Macedonia  at  the  outbreak  of  the  first  Balkan  war 
is  one  of  the  darkest  pages  in  the  Ottoman  political 
organization.  It  condemned  to  a  life  of  wretched- 
ness a  thrifty  and  industrious  race  like  the  Bulgars 
of  Macedonia.  The  excessive  labour  of  the  farmer 
failed  to  ensure  him  a  modest  subsistence.  The 
efforts  of  several  generations,  the  toil  shared  by  all 
the  members  of  the  family,  children  and  adults, 
procured  nothing  but  a  shelter  exposed  to  every 
act  of  violence  and  spoliation.  This  condition  of 
affairs  arose  from  two  circumstances:  (1)  from  the 
absence  of  government  officials  capable  of  restrain- 
ing crying  abuses  and  (2)  from  the  social  and  eco- 
nomic relations  of  the  dominant  Mussulman  minor- 
ity with  the  unfortunate  Christian  serfs. 

Agriculture  is  almost  the  sole  means  of  livelihood 
for  the  Christian  races  of  Macedonia,  and  partic- 
ularly of  the  Bulgars  who  occupy  the  inland  dis- 
tricts. Cattle-breeding  is  rare,  as  an  exclusive 
means  of  subsistence,  except  in  the  regions  of  Priz- 
rend,  Guiliani,  Fiorina,  and  Kastoria.  In  the  eyes 
of  the  Ottoman  law  the  Macedonian  cultivators  were 
classed  as  landowners,  farmers  sharing  in  the  prod- 
uce (tschiftchis),  and  labourers  or  farm  servants. 
The  landowners  were  the  Mussulman  beys.  They 
were  the  masters  of  the  Christian  villagers,  who 
worked  their  farms  and  shared  the  produce.     The 


The  Bulgars  of  Macedonia  367 

farm  servants  also  were  Christians.  There  were  a 
few  Christian  proprietors,  but  their  estates  were 
small.  Christian  farmers  were  largely  represented 
by  Greeks  in  the  districts  of  Seres,  Drama,  and 
Salonika. 

The  system  of  leasing  land  at  half  profits  was 
in  operation  over  three-fourths  of  all  the  arable 
land  of  Macedonia.  But  this  system  was  directly 
responsible  for  the  frightful  wretchedness  of  the 
Christian  population  of  the  villages.  It  made  pos- 
sible the  permanent  tyranny  and  abuses  of  the  beys. 
Theoretically,  the  beys  gave  the  farmers  land,  ac- 
cording to  the  size  of  the  families.  Free  dwellings 
and  seeds  were  furnished  by  the  beys.  The  profits, 
after  deducting  the  tithes,  were  divided  into  equal 
parts  between  the  landlord  and  the  labourer.  This 
division  brought  the  landlord  an  annual  profit  of 
from  eighteen  to  twenty-five  per  cent,  on  his  cap- 
ital. But  he  was  rarely  satisfied  with  this  profit; 
and  as  absolute  master  of  the  fate  of  the  Christian 
farmer,  whose  work  he  exploited  according  to  his 
own  wishes,  he  generally  succeeded  in  wresting  froni 
the  farmer  the  better  part  of  his  earnings. 

The  farmer  was  further  obliged  to  convey  the 
bey's  share  of  the  produce  to  whatever  point  ho 
might  indicate.  It  often  happened  that  the  bey 
found  it  most  profitable  to  sell  his  share  of  the 
produce  in  towns  fifty  or  sixty  miles  away.  The 
farmer  must  deliver  it  at  its  destination.  The  beasts 
of  burden  and  the  wagons  the  farmer  was  compelled 
to  provide  at  his  own  expense.  Each  farmer  was 
compelled  to  furnish  his  landlord  with  four  cart- 


368  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

loads  of  firewood  a  year.  The  farmer  was  obliged 
to  work  for  ten  days  a  year  in  fields  reserved  by 
the  bey,  no  matter  how  distant  these  fields  might 
be.  If  the  bey  owned  a  mill,  as  was  usually  the  case, 
the  operation  and  the  maintenance  of  the  mill  fell 
to  the  farmer,  in  return  for  the  right  to  grind  his 
own  grain.  Rural  policemen,  with  whose  aid  the 
beys  terrorized  the  Christian  farmers,  were  almost 
always  paid  by  the  farmers.  There  were  other 
obligations  which  the  caprice  of  a  bey  might  impose 
upon  the  farmers. 

Here  for  example  is  the  substance  of  a  contract 
imposed  by  a  bey  who  enjoyed  the  reputation  of 
being  one  of  the  best  landlords  in  his  district.  The 
head  of  the  family  is  a  Bulgarian  named  Blajo. 
Sixteen  members  of  the  family  are  registered  in  the 
contract :  Blajo,  the  head,  fifty  years  old ;  his  wife, 
Doitza,  forty-eight  years  old ;  a  son  Christo,  twenty- 
five  years  old ;  his  wife,  Stephana,  twenty-five  years 
old;  their  son  Mitra,  one  year  old;  a  second  son 
of  the  head  of  the  family,  Anghel,  twenty-two  years 
old;  his  wife,  Bira,  twenty  years  old;  their  son 
Constantine,  one  year  old;  a  third  son  of  Blajo, 
named  Christo,  ten  years  old;  a  daughter  Helena, 
eight  years  old ;  a  nephew  of  the  head  of  the  family, 
Vassil  by  name,  thirty  years  old;  his  wife,  Sirma, 
twenty-eight  years  old ;  their  son,  Spasso,  ten  years 
old ;  another  son,  Pietro,  one  year  old ;  a  daughter, 
Stoi'na,  eight  years  old,  and  another  daughter, 
Draga,  one  year  old. 

The  contract  provides  that  Blajo  and  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  family  must  work  for  the  bey.     The 


The  Bulgars  of  Macedonia  369 

entire  family  must  work  one  day  a  week  in  the  pri- 
vate fields  of  the  bey  —  plow,  dig,  reap,  carry  wood, 
and  convey  the  produce  of  the  bey  to  such  places 
as  he  ma}^  care  to  sell  it.  The  house  which  serves 
as  a  dwelling-place  for  the  family  is  built  of  sun- 
dried  bricks,  with  a  roof  of  tiles,  and  resting  on  a 
foundation  of  wood  two  and  a  half  feet  from  the 
ground.  The  walls  are  of  mixed  earth  and  straw. 
The  sleeping-rooms  are  about  four  by  three  feet, 
and  from  four  to  five  persons  occupy  a  room.  The 
house  includes  an  entry,  a  cellar  for  provisions,  and 
a  corridor.  The  whole  building  forms  a  quadrilat- 
eral in  a  court  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet  broad 
by  three  hundred  and  thirty  feet  long.  In  this  court 
there  is  a  small  bread  oven  and  two  storehouses. 
There  is  a  kitchen  near  the  house ;  a  small  vegetable 
garden;  and  a  fruit  orchard.  The  average  annual 
yield  to  this  family  of  sixteen  persons  in  chiniks  is 
as  follows:  wheat,  150;  barley,  80;  oats,  80;  rye, 
50;   maize,  50,  and  buckw^ieat,  100. 

As  elsewhere  noted,  the  Bulgarians  far  outnumber 
all  the  other  races  in  Macedonia.  While  racially 
they  are  of  close  kin  to  the  people  of  Bulgaria,  they 
represent  a  lower  class  intellectually  because  they 
have  not  had  the  same  facilities  for  education  as 
their  kinsmen  in  the  kingdom  north  of  the  moun- 
tains. Mr.  Brailsford  says  of  them  :  "  A  traveller's 
first  impressions  of  the  Bulgarians  of  Macedonia 
are  rarely  favourable.  Tt  is  a  race  with  few  ex- 
ternal attractions;  and  it  seldom  troubles  to  sue 
for  s}Tnpathy,  or  assist  the  process  of  mutual  under- 
standing.    It  is  neither  hospitable  nor  articulate. 


370  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

The  Slav  peasant  has  no  password  to  the  foreign- 
er's heart.  He  cannot  point,  like  the  Greek,  to  a 
great  past ;  he  cannot  boast  that  his  forebears  have 
been  your  tutors  in  civilization.  He  leaves  you  to 
form  what  opinion  of  him  you  please,  and  shows 
himself  only  in  the  drab  of  his  daily  costume  of 
commonplace.  He  will  not  call  on  you  unbidden  at 
your  hotel,  or  invite  you  to  his  schools,  or  insist  that 
you  shall  visit  his  churches.  And,  perforce,  you 
study  him  from  the  outside.  You  find  him  dull, 
reserved,  and  unfriendly,  for  experience  has  taught 
him  to  see  in  every  member  of  an  ahen  race  a  prob- 
able enemy.  He  lacks  the  plausibility,  the  grace, 
the  quick  intelligence  of  the  Greek.  He  has  noth- 
ing of  the  dignified  courtesy,  the  defiant  independ- 
ence, the  mediasval  chivalry  of  the  Albanian.  Nor 
has  he  physical  graces  to  recommend  him ;  and  even 
the  women  are  unprepossessing.  He  has  no  sense 
for  externals,  no  instinct  for  display.  If  he  is 
wealthy  he  hoards  his  wealth.  If  he  is  poor  he  lives 
in  squalor  and  dirt.  His  national  costumes  are 
rarely  picturesque,  Ms  national  dances  monotonous, 
his  national  songs  unmusical.  You  may  learn  to 
respect  his  industry,  his  vast  capacity  for  uninter- 
esting work;  but  it  is  all  the  toil  of  the  labourer, 
and  the  spirit  of  the  artist  and  the  craftsman  is  not 
in  him." 

And  yet,  as  Mr.  Brailsford  admits,  time  and  acci- 
dent bring  the  clue  to  a  different  reading  of  his 
character.  "  The  more  one  learned  to  know  of  the 
Bulgarians  of  Macedonia,  the  more  one  came  to 
respect  their  patriotism  and  courage.    These  are  no 


The  Bulgars  of  Macedonia  371 

flamboyant  or  picturesque  virtues ;  they  have  grown 
up  in  the  soil  of  serfdom  among  a  reserved  and 
unimaginative  race.  They  are  consistent  with  com- 
promise and  prudence.  There  is  something  almost 
furtive  in  their  manifestations.  And  yet  when  the 
Bulgarian  seems  most  an  opportunist  and  a  time- 
server,  he  still  cherishes  his  faith  in  the  future  of 
his  people,  and  still  works  for  its  realization.  He 
has  no  great  past  to  boast  of,  no  glorious  present 
to  give  him  courage.  He  does  not  flaunt  his  nation- 
ality like  the  Greek,  or  claim  an  imagined  superi- 
ority. He  will  risk  no  needless  persecution  for  the 
pure  joy  of  calling  himself  by  the  name  of  his  ances- 
tors. .  .  .  And  yet  these  men,  when  the  occasion 
comes  to  throw  away  their  lives  for  any  definite 
purpose,  are  capable  of  an  utterly  reckless  heroism. 
The  komitadjis  never  found  a  difficulty  in  obtaining 
volunteers  for  such  work  as  mining,  bridge-wreck- 
ing, or  bomb-throwing,  which  involved  almost  cer- 
tain death.  Education  among  the  Bulgarians,  so 
far  from  weakening  the  primitive  tribal  instinct  of 
self-sacrifice,  seems  only  to  intensify  it,  instead  of 
softening  it  with  humanitarian  scruples.  .  .  .  The 
Bulgarians  of  Macedonia  are  to  be  judged  not  by 
the  standard  of  morality  and  civilization  which  in 
fact  they  have  attained,  but  by  their  courage  and 
their  determination  in  striving  for  better  things. 
The  history  of  their  ten  years'  struggle  is  their 
title  to  our  s^Tiipatliy.  If  they  lack  some  of  the 
dignified  and  gracious  virtues  which  their  Albanian 
neighbours  possess,  let  us  remember  that  the  honour 
of  the  Albanian  stands  rooted  in  unfaithfulness.    He 


372  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

renounced  his  religion,  and  received  as  his  reward 
the  right  to  bear  himself  erect,  to  carry  weapons 
and  to  hector  it,  an  overman  amid  a  race  of  serfs. 
The  Bulgarian  held  to  the  faith  which  the  centuries 
had  bequeathed  to  him,  bowed  himself  to  his  daily 
task  and  his  habitual  sufferings,  learned  to  lie  be- 
fore men  that  he  might  be  true  to  God,  and  acquired 
the  vices  of  a  slave  that  he  might  keep  the  virtues 
of  a  martyr."  ^ 

'  Macedonia:  its  Rncrs  and  their  Future.     By  Henrj'  Noel  Brailflford. 
London,  1906,  pp.  340. 


CHAPTER    XXVII 

MACEDONIA    AFTER    THE    BALKAN    WARS 

Racial  and  religious  elements  of  the  population  of  Macedonia  —  Con- 
ditions of  the  province  at  the  close  of  the  first  Balkan  war  —  Dis- 
appearance of  the  poj)ulation  —  The  country  laid  waste  by  the 
Greeks  —  Work  of  f)illage  and  uuirdcr  —  Verdict  of  Mr.  Wallis  — 
Conditions  in  the  part  of  Macedonia  occupied  by  the  Servians  — 
Report  of  the  Carnegie  conunission  —  Oppression  of  the  Bulgarian 
population  —  Tyrannical  order  of  King  Peter  —  Methods  of  coer- 
cion —  The  results. 

The  majority  of  the  iuhabitants  of  Macedonia  are 
Bulgarians.  Greeks  largely  inhabit  the  southern 
coast,  and  there  are  Turks,  Vlakhs,  Albanians,  and 
Servians  in  various  parts  of  the  province.  The 
population  of  Macedonia  is  about  two  million  and 
a  quarter.  Of  this  number  about  eight  hundred 
thousand  profess  the  Mohammedan  religion,  sev- 
enty-five thousand  the  Hebrew,  three  thousand  six 
hundred  the  Roman  Catholic,  two  thousand  the 
Protestant,  and  the  remainder  the  Orthodox  relig- 
ion. Some  of  the  Orthodox  are  affiliated  with  the 
Bulgarian  national  church  and  some  with  the  Greek 
branch. 

The  story  of  the  partition  of  Macedonia  after  the 
Balkan  wars  has  been  recounted  in  previous  chap- 
ters in  this  work.  It  remains  to  note  the  manner 
in  which  heirs  of  Turkey  treated  their  inheritance. 
Through  the  machinations  of  the  Greeks  and  the 
Servians,  the  portion  of  Macedonia  that  fell  to  Bul- 

373 


374  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

garia  was  very  small.  Greece  got  the  lion's  share, 
although  a  considerable  portion  became  the  posses- 
sion of  Servia. 

The  conditions  of  eastern  Macedonia  (now  New 
Greece)  as  they  were  last  June  before  the  second 
Balkan  war,  and  as  they  are  to-day,  are  carefully 
treated  in  a  recent  article  by  Mr.  H.  M.  Wallis 
published  in  the  Quarterly  Review  for  April,  1914.^ 
Mr.  Wallis  spent  six  months  in  the  Balkans  in  the 
winter  of  1912-1913,  distributing  relief  on  behalf  of 
the  Society  of  Friends  of  England  to  the  victims  of 
the  first  Balkan  war.  He  has  recently  made  a  study 
of  the  region  devastated  by  the  Greeks  during  the 
second  Balkan  war.  He  expresses  the  conviction 
that  Macedonia  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
fruitful  parts  of  Europe.  It  is  the  seat  of  one  of 
the  most  ancient  civilizations  but  little  known  to- 
day. For  five  centuries  it  was  vilely  governed  by 
the  Turks.  Since  1887  it  has  been  the  cockpit  of 
rival  sectaries,  patriarchist  Greeks  and  Bulgarian 
exarcists.  It  was  traversed  by  the  Turkish  army 
in  the  first  Balkan  war,  but  it  suffered  surprisingly 
little.  It  was  ruled  by  the  Bulgars  for  six  months 
(to  June,  1913).  The  conquerors  paid  for  what  they 
took ;  discipline  was  rigid ;  no  looting  was  allowed. 
There  was  some  local  friction,  due  to  fanatical  Greek 
ecclesiastics.  The  skirmishes  at  Pangaion  and  Ni- 
grita  were  the  consequences  of  Greek  troops  in- 
truding upon  districts  under  Bulgarian  adm.inistra- 
tion. 

'  The  Devastation  of  Macedonia.     Bj'  H.  M.  Wallia.     Quarterly  Re- 
view, April,  1914.    Vol.  220,  pp.  506—523. 


Macedonia  After  the  Balkan  Wars     375 

The   population   of   eastern   Macedonia   was   not 
homogeneous.    The  most  important  city  in  the  prov- 
ince  was   predominantly   Hebrew.      The   Ohalkidic 
peninsula,  the  coast-line,  and  the  trading  towns  were 
largely  Greek,     The  rural  population  was  solidly 
Bulgarian  in  the  northern  half  of  the  territory  and 
largely  so  to  within   a  few  miles   of  the   -^gean 
sea.    There  were  considerable  Turkish  districts  and 
smaller  settlements  of  Kutzo-Vlakhs   and  gypsies. 
But  the  mass  of  the  population  from  the  Rhodope 
mountains  to  the  sea  were  Bulgarians,  speaking  the 
Bulgarian  language  and  worshipping  according  to 
the  rites  of  the  Bulgarian  exarchist  church.     The 
people  were  consciously  and   ardontlj'  attached  to 
their  brothers  in  the  kingdom  of  Bulgaria.     They 
were  courteous,  industrious,  and  virile.    They  lived 
for  the  most  part  upon  their  own  properties  and 
produced  wine,   silk,   cotton,   tobacco,   leather,   and 
foodstuffs.      Despite    much    discouragement    from 
their  former  Turkish  masters,  they  had  educated 
themselves.     The   schoolhouse   was   a   conspicuous 
object  in  a  ma.iorit}^  of  the  villages,  and  in  all  the 
towns  the  school-teacher  was  the  leading  man.    Such 
was  the  condition  of  the  Bulgarians  in  eastern  Mace- 
donia in  Juno,  1913. 

Where  are  these  Macedonian  Bulgars  to-day? 
Mr.  Wallis  says  they  have  disappeared.  ''  So  far 
as  human  agency  can  effect  it,  they  have  been  ob- 
literated. By  shot,  shell,  and  bayonet,  by  torture 
and  fire,  by  proscription,  imprisonment,  and  forci- 
ble exile,  the  whole  non-Greek  element  has  been  des- 
troyed or  chased  out.     Nor  have  destruction  and 


376  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

proscription  stopped  at  Bulgarians.  Roman  Cath- 
olics and  Protestants,  and  a  mixed  multitude  of 
Turks,  Kutzo-Vlaklis,  and  Jews  have  been  impar- 
tially maltreated,  robbed,  and  expelled  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet. 

*'  Whither^  Into  Bulgaria.  At  the  present  mo- 
ment more  than  one  hundred  villages  and  several 
towns  which  were  in  June  last  as  peaceable  and 
prosperous  as  any  in  the  Balkans,  and  in  point  of 
good  order  and  education  would  have  compared 
favourably  with  a  similar  number  in  the  kingdom 
of  Greece,  lie  wasted,  roofless,  and  without  inhab- 
itants. This  devastation,  by  whomsoever  effected, 
was  done  during  or  immediately  after  the  harvest, 
and  with  extreme  severity.  It  appears  that  it  was 
no  part  of  the  destroyer's  plan  that  the  population 
should  escape.  Efforts  were  made  to  intercept  es- 
cape, in  many  cases  successful  efforts.  Those  who 
saved  themselves  (and  many  thousands  did  so) 
fled  at  a  moment's  notice,  carrying  children  upon 
their  backs,  and  dragging  others  by  the  hand. 
These  fugitives,  two-thirds  of  whom  were  w^omen, 
were  questioned  by  Englishmen  and  Americans  as 
they  entered  Bulgarian  territory.  Most  of  them 
brought  away  nothing  but  the  working  summer 
clothes  in  which  they  stood  at  the  moment,  and  in 
these  garments,  long  since  reduced  to  filthy  rags, 
an  enormous  number  are  at  this  hour  enduring  the 
rigours  of  a  Bulgarian  winter.  I  believe  that  of 
approximately  180,000  refugees,  who  are  now  King 
Ferdinand's  guests,  and  are  fed  by  his  bounty  and 
the    bounty    of    the    Bulgarians,    there    are    about 


Macedonia  After  the  Balkan  Wars     377 

100,000  whos(3  liomes  were  in  what  is  now  New 
Greece. 

"  These  are  admitted  facts  upon  which  I  ask 
judgment.  Neither  Greeks  nor  Bulgars  deny  that 
New  Greece  lies  waste,  or  that  this  abominable  and 
wholesale  ruin  was  wrought  within  the  space  of 
about  four  months.  Who  did  it  and  why?  The 
Greeks  lay  it  at  the  door  of  the  Bulgarians;  these 
accuse  the  Greeks. 

**  First  let  us  decide  whether  it  was  an  act  of 
war  and  can  be  defended  as  such.  A  hard-pressed 
force  may  plead  justification  for  setting  fire  to  the 
villages  and  towns  through  which  it  retreats.  Noth- 
ing delays  pursuit  like  this.  The  beaten  Turks 
wasted  Thrace  as  they  fell  back  from  Losengrad  to 
Lule  Burgas.  The  Times  war  correspondent  held 
that  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  destruction  visible  south 
of  Adrianople  was  their  doing.  The  Bulgarians 
have  never  claimed  this  excuse  for  what  they  did 
or  did  not  do.  In  the  first  place  their  retreat  from 
Kilkis  (Kukush)  to  the  mountains  was  a  leisurely 
movement.  They  covered  about  six-and-a-quarter 
miles  a  day,  and  except  for  a  few  hours  on  one  day 
were  never  pressed;  they  had  therefore  no  need 
to  destroy  the  country  behind  them.  They  deny 
having  done  so;  it  belonged  to  their  own  people; 
nor  will  they  admit  for  a  moment  having  perpe- 
trated massacres  and  compelled  wholesale  emigra- 
tions. Nor  do  the  refugees  accuse  them;  with  one 
voice  they  accuse  the  Greeks.  Is  it  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  from  party  feeling,  or  any  other  con- 
ceivable impulse,  an  enormous  multitude  of  women 


378  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

and  children,  without  means  of  collusion  and  iso- 
lated in  widely-separated  harbours  of  refuge,  should 
all  invent  and  adhere  to  the  same  mendacity? 

**  Observe,  too,  the  circumstances  under  which 
their  stories  were  first  told.  The  depositions  of 
very  many  were  taken  (for  the  most  part  at  vari- 
ous points  along  the  frontier,  and  before  they  had 
any  opportunity  of  contact  with  Bulgarian  officials, 
or  others)  by  impartial  foreigners,  whoso  good  faith 
cannot  be  doubted,  who  speak  Bulgarian,  questioned 
the  refugees  directly  witliout  the  aid  of  interpreters, 
and  took  notes  in  common.^ 

**  How  then  shall  I  treat  the  mass  of  evidence 
which  encumbers  my  desk?  How  make  selection 
from  Bulgarian  official  publications,  private  mem- 
oranda placed  at  my  disposal,  notes  of  conversations 
with  eye-witnesses,  letters  from  personal  friends'? 
I  cannot  deal  with  one  per  cent,  of  it.  The  merest 
catalogue  of  villages  sacked  and  burnt,  men  flogged 
to  death,  women  raped  and  mothers  ripped,  wounded 
slaughtered  in  hospital,  prisoners  of  war  tied  to 
trees  with  telegraph-wire  and  burned  alive,  or 
buried  to  the  neck  and  left,  would  occupy  a  score 
of  pages.  The  advance  of  the  Greek  army  has  been 
held  up  to  the  admiration  of  military  men  as  a 
miracle  of  speed.  Its  slowness  is  the  fact  which  calls 
for  explanation ;  two  furlongs  per  hour  is  no  Mara- 
thon race,  but  it  is  all  King  Constantino  was  able  to 
exact  from  a  force  outnumbering  its  opponents  by 

1  The  author  was  one  of  the  foreigners  who  took  the  depositions  of 
hundreds  of  the  refugees  at  various  {)hices  along  the  frontier  between 
Bulgaria  and  Macedonia.  With  one  accord  they  aecused  the  P-eeks 
of  the  abominable  and  wholesale  desolation  of  their  grainfields,  viiiages, 
and  towns. 


Macedonia  After  the  Balkan  Wars     379 

four  or  five  to  one.  Why?  Because  his  gallant  boys 
had  something  else  to  do.  From  almost  the  first 
contact  with  the  enemy,  desertion  became  epidemic. 
The  Greek,  making  away  witli  his  uniform,  donned 
clothes  looted  from  countrymen,  and  forewent  the 
joy  of  battle  and  the  crowded  hour  of  glorious  life 
to  revert  to  liis  congenial,  and  shall  we  say  ancestral, 
calling  of  thief.  Regiments  dejDleted,  or  encumbered 
with  heterogeneous  loot,  make  slow  marchers  and 
timid  fighters.  What  went  oti  beliind  the  line  of 
Greek  advance  no  pen  may  tell.  The  maltreatment 
of  Bulgarian  women  seems  to  have  been  a  specialty 
of  these  dastards,  who  during  their  month  of  '  fight- 
ing *  could  never,  as  General  Ivanoff  assures  me, 
be  got  to  charge  with  the  bayonet. 

*'  Wliat  emerges  plainly  from  this  mass  of  evi- 
dence is  a  systematic  plan.  The  Greek  method  was 
to  send  ahead  of  their  army  seeming-friendly  emis- 
saries, often  wearing  Bulgarian  dress,  who  warn  the 
country  people  to  remain  in  their  villages.  Next 
day  the  cavalry  arrive;  a  cordon  is  draw^n  around 
the  doomed  hamlet  or  town;  the  men  are  summoned 
to  surrender  their  arms,  then  rounded  up  and  shot; 
search  for  money  and  valuables  follows;  then  the 
pillagers  give  themselves  up  to  an  orgy  of  rape. 
Last  comes  an  indiscriminate  killing  of  women,  chil- 
dren and  elders.  This  was  common  form,  not  in 
one  valley,  or  in  the  path  of  this  or  that  regiment, 
but  over  the  entire  area  of  the  war  from  a  little 
north  of  Salonika  to  Petrich  on  the  Bulgarian  march. 
It  w^as  extended  to  districts  outside  the  line  of  fight- 
ing.   It  was  meted  out  to  non-Bulgarian  races.    The 


380  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

Kutzo-Vlakhs  are  a  docile,  wooden-faced,  slow- 
spoken  breed,  hereditary  herdsmen,  and  of  no  par- 
ticular politics.  But  they  are  not  Greeks!  These 
thrifty,  harmless  folk  were  scattered  sporadically 
in  groups  of  little  hamlets  among  the  mountains. 
Uproot  them !  burn  !  kill  I  was  the  word ;  and  whole 
settlements  w^ere  obliterated  with  torch  and  sabre. 
Four  villages  at  Oshen  and  Oshani  went  up  in  flame ; 
the  smoke  of  their  burning  was  visible  for  many 
a  mile,  and  was  testified  to  by  Bulgarians  of  another 
valley.  The  survivors  tell  of  returning  next  day  to 
find  wife,  child,  stock  and  cottage  lost,  gone,  or  des- 
troyed. 

"  Such  were  the  methods;  what  was  the  object? 
The  extermination  of  the  non-Hellenic  elements  in 
the  population  of  New  Greece.  In  certain  instances 
this  object  was  fully  attained.  In  preparing  the 
lists  of  voters  for  the  recent  elections,  the  Bulgarian 
authorities  found  that  from  some  of  the  villages  all 
the  males  had  disappeared  except  some  old  men  and 
children.  The  aim  is  openly  avowed  in  the  inter- 
cepted letters,  from  which  we  take  the  following 
as  typical  examples.  Pericles  Soumblis  writes  to 
his  father,  G.  P.  Soumblis,  Megali  Anastasova,  Ala- 
gonia,  Calamas:  *  We  have  taken  no  prisoners,  for 
such  are  our  orders.  Ev^erj'Avhere  we  burn  the  Bul- 
garian villages,  so  that  that  dirty  race  may  never 
be  able  to  recover  itself.  I  embrace  you,  etc'  '  By 
order  of  the  king,  we  set  on  fire  all  the  Bulgarian 
villages.'  '  We  burn  all  the  villages  here  and  kill 
the  Bulgarians,  women  and  children.'  '  Our  orders 
are  to  burn  the  villages  and  massacre  the  young. 


Macedonia  After  the  Balkan  Wars     381 

sparing  only  the  old  men  and  children.'  '  What  we 
are  doing  to  the  Bulgarians  is  indescribable,  as  also 
to  the  Bulgarian  villages  —  a  butchery  —  there  is 
not  a  Bulgarian  town  or  village  which  has  not  been 
burnt.'  '  Need  I  tell  you,  brother,  that  all  the  Bul- 
garians we  take  —  and  there  are  a  good  many  — 
are  put  to  death?  '  '  Of  the  1200  jHisoners  we  took 
at  Nigrita  only  forty-one  remain  in  the  prisons,  and 
wherever  we  have  passed  we  have  left  no  root  of  this 
race.'  '  We  burn  all  the  Bulgarian  villages  that  we 
occupy  and  kill  all  the  Bulgarians  who  fall  into  our 
hands.'  '  Not  a  cat  escapes  us.'  '  We  shoot  them 
like  sparrows.'  But  enough  of  these  horrors.  In- 
augurated with  a  shriek  for  vengeance,  the  brief 
campaign  was  a  pandemonium  of  lust,  loot  and 
blood,  deliberately  organized  for  political  ends. 

"  King  Oonstantine  had  a  singular  opportunity  of 
proving  to  Europe  the  capacity,  ci\dlization  and 
magnanimity  of  himself  and  his  people.  He  pre- 
ferred to  play  the  role  of  Tamerlane;  he  has  made 
a  desert  and  calls  it  '  Greece.'  " 

So  much  for  the  part  of  Macedonia  that  the  Bu- 
charest conference  awarded  to  Greece.  But  what 
about  Servian  Macedonia?  Here  the  author  prefers 
to  let  the  Carnegie  commission  tell  the  present  con- 
dition of  affairs.  The  report  remarks  that  the  king- 
dom of  Servia  suddenly  doubled  its  area  by  the  addi- 
tion of  peoples  described  as  ''  Slav-Macedonian  — 
a  euphemism  designed  to  conceal  the  existence  of 
Bulgarians  in  Macedonia.  And  their  acquisitions 
under  the  treaty  of  Bucharest  went  beyond  their 
most  extravagant  pretensions.     They  took  advan- 


382  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

tage  of  the  Bulgarians'  need  to  conclude  peace  at 
any  price  to  deprive  them  of  territories  to  the  east 
of  the  Vardar,  for  example,  Chtipe  and  Radoviche, 
where  Bulgarian  patriotism  glowed  most  vividly 
and  where  the  sacrifices  accepted  by  Bulgarian  pa- 
triots for  the  sake  of  freeing  Macedonia,  had  always 
been  exceptionally  great.  This  was  adding  insult 
to  injury. 

''  Mr.  Skerlits,  a  Servian  deputy  and  member  of 
the  opposition,  closed  his  speech  in  the  skuptchina 
on  October  18,  1913,  with  these  memorable  words: 
'  We  do  not  regard  territorial  results  as  everything. 
Enlarged  Servia  does  not  spell,  for  us,  a  country  in 
which  the  number  of  policemen,  tax-collectors,  and 
controllers  has  been  doubled.  New  Servia,  greater 
Servia,  must  be  a  land  of  greater  liberty,  greater 
.iustice,  greater  general  well  being.  May  Servia, 
twice  as  great  as  she  was,  be  not  twice  as  weak  but 
twice  as  strong.' 

"  Unfortunately  these  generous  words  are  but  pia 
desideria.  For  some  time  the  government  hesitated. 
Nevertheless,  Mr.  Pachitch  must  have  understood 
that  the  question  whether  Servia 's  acquisitions 
were  to  make  her  twice  as  weak  or  twice  as  strong 
depended  on  the  pohcy  pursued  in  Macedonia.  Dur- 
ing the  days  spent  by  the  Commission  at  Belgrade 
the  question  was  debated.  There  were  two  antag- 
onistic views.  One,  represented  by  Mr.  Pachitch 
himself,  wanted  a  *  liberal  '  regime  in  Macedonia 
and  the  avoidance,  at  any  price,  of  a  *  military  dic- 
tatorship.' The  population  of  the  new  territories 
was  to  be  left  to  express  its  loyalty  spontaneously; 


Macedonia  After  the  Balkan  Wars     383 

to  wait '  until  it  realized  that  its  uew  lot  was  sweeter 
than  the  old.'  Military  circles,  however,  did  not 
share  this  view.  They  were  for  a  military  adminis- 
tration, since  a  civil  administration,  in  their  view, 

*  must  be  incapable  of  repressing  the  propagandism 
sure  to  be  carried  on  by  the  Bulgarians.'    True,  the 

*  liberal  '  regime  as  projected  by  Mr.  Pachitch  was 
not  so  liberal  as  the  Bulgarian  manifesto  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  annexed  countries  had  hoped. 
The  new  citizens  were  not  to  possess  the  franchise 
for  fear  lest  a  new  '  Macedonian  '  party  should  thus 
be  brought  into  the  skuptchina  to  upset  all  the  rela- 
tions between  the  contending  parties  in  the  kingdom 
and  form  the  mark  of  common  jealousy.  Some  sort 
of  local  franchise  or  self-government  was  consid- 
ered. A  kind  of  compromise  was  suggested  in  the 
shape  of  military  administration  with  a  civil  annex 
and  representatives  of  the  departments  at  Belgrade, 
on  the  familiar  plan  employed  in  Bosnia  and  Herze- 
govina before  the  1908  annexation.  In  any  case,  the 
question  of  the  administration  to  be  erected  in  Mace- 
donia displayed  so  wide  a  divergence  between  the 
views  of  Mr.  Pachitch  and  his  colleagues,  apart  from 
the  military  group,  that  Mr.  Pachitch 's  resignation 
was  talked  of. 

"  Mr.  Pachitch  neither  resigned  nor  insisted  on 
his  own  standpoint.  Silence  fell  on  such  isolated 
voices  as  that  of  the  president  of  the  skuptchina, 
Mr.  Andre  Nicolits,  who  protested  in  the  foreign 
press  against  the  exceptional  regime  in  Macedonia 
and  asked  for  constitutional  guarantees.  The  Pie- 
mont,  the  organ  of  the  military  parly,  declared  that 


384  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

such  notions  were  '  opposed  to  the  interests  of  the 
state,'  and  assured  the  Servian  public  that '  the  pop- 
ulation of  Macedonia  had  never  for  a  moment 
thought  of  elections,  or  communal  self-government,' 
etc. ;  that  '  nothing  save  a  military  regime  could  be 
entirely  just,  humanely  severe  and  sufficiently  firm 
to  break  the  will  of  individuals  or  groups  hostile  to 
the  state.' 

''  Such  was  the  spirit  in  which  the  Servian  gov- 
ernment on  September  21  issued  a  decree  on  *  public 
security  '  in  the  recently  acquired  territories,  which 
amounted  to  the  establishment  of  a  military  dicta- 
torship, and  called  forth  cries  of  horror  in  the  for- 
eign press.  The  document  is  so  characteristic  and 
so  important  that,  despite  its  length,  we  quote  it 
in  extenso. 

*'  Article  1.  The  police  authorities  are  author- 
ized, in  case  of  a  deficiency  in  the  regular  organiza- 
tion for  securing  the  liberty  and  security  of  persons 
and  property,  to  ask  the  Military  Commander  for  the 
troops  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  order  and 
tranquillity.  The  Military  Commander  is  bound  to 
comply  immediately  with  these  demands,  and  the 
police  is  bound  to  inform  the  Minister  of  the  Interior 
of  them. 

'*  Article  2.  Any  attempt  at  rebellion  against  the 
public  poivers  is  pimishable  by  five  years  petml  serv- 
itude. The  decision  of  the  police  authorities,  pub- 
lished in  the  respective  communes ,  is  suficient  proof 
of  the  commission  of  crime.  If  the  rebel  refuses  to 
give  himself  up  as  prisoner  ivithin  ten  days  from' 


Macedonia  After  the  Balkan  Wars     385 

such  publication,  he  may  he  put  to  death  by  any  pub- 
lic or  military  officer. 

"  Article  3.  Any  person  accused  of  rebellion  in 
terms  of  the  police  decision  and  who  commits  any 
crime  shall  be  punished  with  death.  If  the  accused 
person  himself  gives  himself  up  as  a  prisoner  into 
the  hands  of  the  authorities,  the  death  penalty  shall 
be  commuted  to  penal  servitude  for  ten  or  twenty 
years,  always  provided  that  the  commutation  is  ap- 
proved by  the  tribunal. 

"  Article  4.  Where  several  cases  of  rebellion 
occur  in  a  commune  and  the  rebels  do  not  return 
to  their  homes  within  ten  days  from  the  police  notice, 
the  authorities  have  the  right  of  deporting  their 
families  whithersoever  they  may  find  conveyiient. 
Likewise  the  inhabitants  of  the  houses  in  which 
armed  persons  or  criminals  in  general  are  found 
concealed,  shall  be  deported.  The  heads  of  the  po- 
lice shall  transmit  to  the  Prefecture  a  report  on  the 
deportation  procedure,  which  is  to  be  put  in  force 
immediately.  The  Minister  of  the  Interior  shall,  if 
he  think  desirable,  rescind  deportation  measures. 

"  Article  5.  Any  person  deported  by  an  order 
of  the  Prefecture  who  shall  return  to  his  original 
domicile  without  the  authorization  of  the  Minister 
of  the  Interior  shall  be  punished  by  three  years' 
imprisonment. 

"  Article  6.  If  in  any  commune  or  any  canton 
the  maintenance  of  security  demands  the  sending 
of  troops,  the  maintenance  of  the  latter  shall  be 
charged  to  the  commune  or  the  canton.  In  such  a 
case  the  Prefect  is  to  be  notified.     If  order  is  re- 


386  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

stored  after  a  brief  interval  and  the  culprits  taken, 
the  Minister  of  the  Interior  may  refund  such  ex- 
penses to  the  canton  or  the  commune.  The  Minister 
may  act  in  this  way  as  often  as  he  may  think  desir- 
able. 

"  Article  7.  Any  person  found  carrying  arms 
who  has  not  in  his  possession  a  permit  from  the 
police  or  from  the  Prefect,  or  who  shall  hide  arms 
in  his  house  or  elsewhere,  shall  be  condemned  to  a 
penalty  varying  from  three  months'  imprisonment 
to  five  years'  penal  servitude.  Any  one  selling  arms 
or  ammunition  without  a  police  permit  shall  be  liable 
to  the  same  penalty. 

"  Article  8.  Any  person  using  any  kind  of  ex- 
plosives, knowing  that  such  use  is  dangerous  to  the 
life  and  good  of  others,  shall  be  punished  Avith 
twenty  years'  penal  servitude. 

*'  Article  9.  Any  one  who  shall  prepare  explo- 
sives or  direct  their  preparation  or  who  knows  of 
the  existence  of  explosives  intended  for  the  commis- 
sion of  a  crime  shall,  subject  to  Article  8,  be  pun- 
ished by  ten  years'  penal  servitude. 

'*  Article  10.  Any  person  receiving,  keeping  or 
transporting  explosives  intended  for  a  criminal  pur- 
pose shall  be  punished  by  five  years'  penal  servitude, 
except  where  he  does  so  with  the  intention  of  pre- 
venting the  commission  of  a  crime. 

"  Article  11.  Any  person  who  uses  an  explosive 
without  any  evil  intent,  shall  be  punished  by  five 
years'  penal  servitude. 

"  Article  12.  (1)  Any  one  deliberately  harming 
the  roads,  streets  or  squares  in  such  a  way  as  to 


Macedonia  After  the  Balkan  Wars     387 

endanger  life  or  public  health,  shall  be  punished  by 
fifteen  years'  penal  servitude.  If  the  delinquency 
be  unintentional  the  penalty  shall  be  five  years.  (2) 
If  the  author  of  the  crime  cited  above  causes  danger 
to  the  life  or  health  of  numerous  persons,  or  if  his 
action  results  in  the  death  of  several  individuals 
(and  this  could  be  foreseen),  he  shall  be  punished 
by  death  or  twenty  years'  penal  servitude.  If  the 
crime  be  unpremeditated  the  punishment  shall  be 
ten  years. 

"  Article  13.  Any  attempt  at  damaging  the  rail- 
way lines  or  navigation,  shall  be  punished  by  twenty 
years'  penal  servitude.  If  the  attempt  is  not  pre- 
meditated the  punishment  shall  be  for  ten  years.  If 
the  author  of  sucli  attempt  has  endangered  the  life 
of  several  individuals,  or  if  his  action  results  in 
death  or  wounds  to  several  persons,  he  shall  be  pun- 
ished by  death  or  twenty  years'  penal  servitude. 

"•  Article  14.  Any  person  injuring  the  means  of 
telegraphic  or  telephonic  communication  shall  be 
punished  by  fifteen  years'  penal  servitude.  If  the 
act  is  not  premeditated  the  penalty  shall  be  five 
j^ears. 

"  Article  15.  Generally  speal<ing  the  conceal- 
ment of  armed  or  guilty  persons  shall  be  punished 
by  ten  years'  penal  servitude. 

"  Article  1G.  Any  one  who  knows  a  malefactor 
and  does  not  denounce  him  to  the  Authorities  shall 
he  'punished  by  five  years*  penal  servitude. 

"  Article  17.  Those  instigating  to  disobedience 
against  the  established  powers,  the  laws  and  the 
regulations  with  the  force  of  law;  rebels  against  the 


388  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

authorities  or  public  or  coimuunal  oiricers;  shall  be 
punished  by  twenty-one  months'  imprisonment  up 
to  ten  years'  penal  servitude.  If  such  acts  produce 
no  effects,  the  penalty  may  be  reduced  to  three 
months. 

"  Article  18.  Any  act  of  aggression  and  any  re- 
sistance either  hy  word  or  force,  offered  to  a  public 
or  communal  officer  charged  with  putting  in  force 
a  decision  of  the  tribunal,  or  an  order  of  the  com- 
munal or  police  public  authority,  during  the  exer- 
cise of  his  duties,  may  be  punished  by  ten  years* 
penal  servitude  or  at  least  six  months'  imprison- 
ment, however  insignificant  he  the  magnitude  of  the 
crime.  Any  aggression  against  those  helping  the 
public  officer,  or  experts  specially  called  in,  may  be 
punished  by  the  same  penalty.  If  the  aggression 
offered  to  the  public  officer  takes  place  outside  the 
exercise  of  his  official  duties  the  penalty  shall  be 
two  years'  imprisonment. 

*'  Article  19.  Where  the  crimes  here  enumerated 
are  perpetrated  by  an  associated  group  of  persons, 
the  penalty  shall  be  fifteen  years'  penal  servitude. 
The  accomplices  of  those  who  committed  the  above 
mentioned  misdeeds  against  public  officials  shall  be 
punished  by  the  maximum  penalty,  and,  if  this  is 
thought  insufficient,  they  may  be  condemned  to  penal 
servitude  for  a  period  amounting  to  twenty  years. 

"  Article  20.  Those  who  recruit  bands  against 
the  State,  or  with  a  view  to  offering  resistance  to 
public  authorities  shall  be  liable  to  a  penalty  of 
twenty  years'  penal  servitude. 

"  Article  21.     Accomplices  of  rebels  or  of  bands 


Macedonia  After  the  Balkan  Wars     389 

offering  armed  resistance  to  Servian  troops  or  the 
public  or  communal  officers  shall  be  punished  by 
death  or  by  at  least  ten  years'  penal  servitude. 

'*  Article  22.  Persons  taking  part  in  seditious 
meetings  which  do  not  disperse  when  ordered  to  do 
so  by  the  administrative  or  communal  authorities 
are  liable  to  terms  of  imprisonment  up  to  two  years. 

"  Article  23.  In  the  case  of  the  construction  of 
roads,  or,  generally  speaking,  of  public  works  of 
all  kinds,  agitators  who  incite  workmen  to  strike  or 
who  are  unwilling  to  work  or  who  seek  to  work  else- 
where or  in  anotlier  manner,  from  that  in  wliicli  they 
are  told  and  who  persist  in  such  insubordination, 
after  notification  by  the  authorities  shall  be  pun- 
ished by  imprisonment  from  three  months  up  to  two 
years. 

*'  Article  24.  Any  soldier  or  citizen  called  to 
the  colours  who  does  not  follow  the  call,  or  who 
refuses  in  the  army  to  obey  his  superiors,  shall  be 
condemned  to  a  penalty  varying  from  three  months' 
imprisonment  to  five  years'  penal  servitude.  Sol- 
diers who  assist  any  one  to  desert  from  the  army 
or  who  desert  themselves,  and  those  who  make  en- 
deavours to  attract  Servian  subjects  to  serve  with 
foreign  troops,  shall  be  y)unislied  by  ten  years'  penal 
servitude.  In  time  of  mobilization  or  war  the  pen- 
alty for  this  delincjuency  is  death. 

"  Article  25.  Any  one  releasing  an  individual 
under  surveillance  or  under  the  guard  of  officials  or 
public  employees  for  surveillance,  guard  or  escort, 
or  setting  such  person  at  liberty,  sliall  be  condemned 
to  penal  servitude  for  a  maximum  period  of  five 


390  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

years.  Where  such  delinquency  is  the  work  of  an 
organized  group  of  individuals,  each  accomplice 
shall  be  liable  to  a  penalty  of  between  three  and  five 
years'  penal  servitude. 

^'  Article  26.  The  Prefects  have  the  right  to 
prescribe  in  their  name  police  measures  to  safeguard 
the  life  and  property  of  those  subject  to  their  ad- 
ministration. They  shall  fix  penalties  applicable  to 
those  who  refuse  to  submit  to  such  measures.  The 
penalty  shall  consist  of  a  maximum  period  of  three 
years'  imprisonment  or  of  a  pecuniary  fine  up  to  a 
mousand  dinars.  The  edicts  of  the  Prefects  shall 
come  into  force  immediately,  but  the  Prefects  are 
bound  to  communicate  them  at  once  to  the  Minister 
of  the  Interior. 

''  Article  27.  The  crime  set  forth  in  the  present 
regulations  are  to  have  precedence  of  all  other  suits 
before  the  judicial  tribunals  and  judgment  upon 
them  is  to  be  executed  with  the  briefest  possible 
delay.  Persons  indicted  of  such  offences  shall  be 
subject  to  preventive  detention  until  final  judgment 
is  passed  on  their  case.  Within  a  three  days'  delay 
the  tribunal  shall  send  its  findings  to  the  High  Court, 
and  the  latter  shall  proceed  immediately  to  the  ex- 
amination of  this  decision. 

"  Article  28.  The  law  of  July  12,  1895,  as  to  the 
pursuit  and  destruction  of  brigands,  which  came  into 
force  on  August  18,  1913,  is  applicable  to  the  an- 
nexed territories,  in  so  far  as  it  is  not  modified  by 
the  present  regulations. 

"  Article  29.  Paragraphs  92,  93,  95,  96,  97,  98, 
302b,  302  c,  303  d  (so  far  as  concerns  paragraphs  b 


Macedonia  After  the  Balkan  Wars     391 

and  c),  304,  306,  and  360,  and  Section  III  of  the  penal 
code  which  do  not  agree  with  the  present  regulation, 
are  null  and  void. 

**  Article  30.  The  present  regnlation  does  not 
abolish  the  provisions  of  paragraph  34  of  the  penal 
military  code,  in  connection  with  paragraph  4  of  the 
same  code,  paragraphs  52  and  69  of  the  penal  mili- 
tary code  and  paragraph  4  of  the  same,  which  are 
not  applicable  to  civil  persons. 

**  Article  31.  The  present  regulation  is  in  force 
from  the  day  of  its  signature  by  the  King  and  its 
publication  in  the  Servian  press. 

*'  We  order  our  Council  of  Ministers  to  make  the 
present  regulation  public  and  to  see  that  it  is  car- 
ried into  effect :  we  order  the  public  authorities  to 
act  in  conformity  with  it,  and  we  order  each  and 
all  to  submit  to  it. 

''  Executed  at  Belgrade,  September  21,  1913. 

Peter.  ' ' 

**  In  the  wiords  of  the  socialist  Servian  paper 
Radnitchke  Novine,  '  If  the  liberation  of  these  ter- 
ritories is  a  fact,  why  then  is  this  exceptional  regime 
established  there?  If  the  inhabitants  are  Servians 
why  are  they  not  made  the  equals  of  all  the  Servi- 
ans; why  is  the  constitutional  rule  not  put  in  opera- 
tion according  to  which  '*  all  Servians  are  equal 
before  the  law  "?  If  the  object  of  the  wars  was 
unification,  why  is  not  this  unification  effectively 
recognized,  and  why  are  these  exceptional  ordi- 
nances created,  such  as  can  only  be  imposed  upon 
conquered  countries  by  conquerors?    Moreover,  our 


392  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

constitution   does   not   admit   of   rules   of   this   na- 
ture! " 

''  As  a  matter  of  fact,  if  one  did  not  know  what 
Macedonia  is,  one  might  guess  it  from  the  publica- 
tion of  these  ordinances.  Clearly  Macedonia  was 
not  '  Old  Servia  '  unified,  since  the  population  is 
treated  as  *  rebels  in  a  perpetual  state  of  revolt.* 
AVhat  the  ordinances  had  in  view  were  not  isolated 
criminals,  —  they  had  accomplices  and  people  who 
would  hide  them  everywhere.  To  punish  the  cul- 
prit? That  was  not  enough  w^liile  his  family  re- 
mained ;  his  family  must  be  deported  and  the  friends 
who  were  umvdlling  to  '  denounce  '  the  culprit,  his 
'  associates,*  who  seized  the  opportunity  of  *  setting 
him  at  liberty  '  when  he  was  '  under  surveillance, 
guard  or  escort  '  by  officials  or  public  employes  — 
they  must  be  deported  too.  In  short,  a  whole  pop- 
ulation was  *  recalcitrant,'  and  to  resist  it  there  were 
only  these  *  public  or  communal  officers  '  invested 
with  extraordinary  powers.  "WHiat  were  they  to  do, 
when  the  population,  not  content  with  offering  pas- 
sive resistance,  became  *  aggressive.'  This  popula- 
tion, called  to  the  colours,  refused  *  to  obey  the  call.' 
Wlien  asked  to  *  work  '  on  the  '  construction  of 
roads  '  or  on  any  communal  works,  they  struck,  they 
preferred  to  work  '  elsewhere  or  in  some  other  man- 
ner.' Finally,  each  one  '  refused  to  give  himself 
up  as  a  prisoner,'  always  holding  himself  ready  to 
attack  the  public  officers,  '  to  resist  them  if  not  by 
force  at  least  by  word !  '  This  last  crime  is  punished 
by  the  ordinances  by  '  ten  years'  penal  servitude,  or 
at  least  six  months'  imprisonment  hoiuever  insignifi- 


Macedonia  After  the  Balkan  Wars     393 

cant  he  the  ivords  or  the  deeds.'  The  hope  openly 
expressed  to  the  members  of  the  commission  from 
the  first  half  of  August  onwards,  was  that  thanks  to 
these  measures  an  end  will  be  made  qf  the  resistance 
of  the  alien  population  in  Macedonia  in  five  or  six 
years!  " 

A  regime  of  anarchy  prevails  in  Servian  Mace- 
donia. The  condition  of  affairs  is  well  summed  up 
in  an  article  in  the  Manchester  Guardian.  After 
citing  the  vicious  Servian  ordinances,  already 
quoted  in  the  extract  from  the  report  of  the  Car- 
negie commission,  the  Enghsh  journal  says:  "  This 
is  the  theory  of  Servian  coercion.  The  practice  is 
worse.  Servia  is  not  a  country  with  a  large  edu- 
cated population.  It  has  indeed  some  eighty  per 
cent,  of  illiterates.  It  has  to  supply  rulers  for  a 
conquered  territoiy  which  ahnost  equals  it  in  extent, 
and  the  abler  men  regard  life  in  rural  Macedonia 
as  exile.  Unworthy  agents  are  invested  \\\i\\  sov- 
ereign powers.  The  consequences  are  vividly,  if 
briefly,  described  in  a  personal  letter  which  arrived 
recently,  and  is  translated  below.  The  writer  is  a 
man  of  high  character  and  a  minister  of  religion  — 
it  is  safer  not  to  indicate  his  church.  He  is  a  native 
of  the  country,  but  has  had  a  European  education, 
and  is  not  himself  a  member  of  the  persecuted  Bul- 
garian community: 

**  *  The  situation  grows  more  and  more  unbear- 
able for  the  Bulgarians  —  a  perfect  hell.  I  had  op- 
portunities of  talking  with  peasants  from  the  inte- 
rior. "What  they  tell  us  makes  one  shudder.  Every 
group  of  four  or  five  villages  has  an  oflicial  placed 


394  Bulgaria  and  Her  People 

over  it  who,  with  six  or  seven  underlings,  men  of 
disreputable  antecedents,  carries  out  perquisitions, 
and  on  the  pretext  of  searching  for  arms  steals 
everything  that  is  worth  taking.  They  indulge  in 
flogging  and  robbery  and  violate  many  of  the  women 
and  girls.  Tributes  under  tlie  form  of  military  con- 
tribution's arc  arbitrarily  imposed.  One  village  of 
110  families  had  already  been  fined  6,000  dinars 
(£250)  and  now  it  has  to  pay  another  2,000  (£80). 
The  priest  of  the  village,  to  avoid  being  sent  into 
exile,  has  had  to  pay  a  ransom  of  £T.50.  Poor  emi- 
grants returning  from  America  have  had  to  pay 
from  ten  to  twenty  napoleons  for  permission  to  go 
to  their  homes.  The  officials  and  officers  carry  out 
wholesale  robberies  through  the  customs  and  the 
army  contracts.  The  police  is  all-powerful,  espe- 
cially the  secret  service.  Bands  of  Servian  terror- 
ists {homitadjis)  recruited  by  the  government, 
swarm  all  over  the  country.  They  go  from  village 
to  village,  and  woe  to  any  one  who  dares  to  refuse 
them  anything.  These  bands  have  a  free  hand  to 
do  as  they  please,  in  order  to  serbise  the  population. 
Shepherds  are  forbidden  to  drive  their  flocks  to 
pasture  lest  (such  is  the  excuse)  they  should  supply 
the  Bulgarian  bands  with  food.  In  a  word  it  is  an 
absolute  anarchy.  We  shall  soon  have  a  famine, 
for  the  Serbs  have  taken  everything,  and  under  pres- 
ent conditions  no  one  can  earn  a  living.  Every  one 
would  like  to  emigrate,  but  it  is  impossible  to  get 
permission  even  to  visit  a  neighbouring  village.*  " 
After  five  centuries  of  Turkish  rule  the  Bulgars 
of   Macedonia    still   retained    their   language,    cus- 


Macedonia  After  the  Balkan  Wars     395 

toms,  and  nationality.  Tlie  brutal  methods  of  de- 
nationalization employed  by  the  Greeks  and  Servi- 
ans merit  the  severe  condemnation  of  all  civilized 
nations.  Servia,  for  example,  has  suppressed  all 
Bulgarian  books  and  newspapers ;  closed  the  schools 
and  the  churches;  driven  away  the  priests  and  the 
teachers,  and  forced  the  inhabitants  to  change  their 
names,  substituting  the  Servian  itch  for  the  Bul- 
garian off.  A  Bulgarian  in  Servian  Macedonia 
who  wants  any  legal  document  cannot  obtain  it 
unless  he  writes  his  name  with  the  Servian  ending. 
If  he  attempts  to  defend  his  Bulgarian  nationality 
the  police  deal  with  him  on  some  trumped-up 
charges,  and  he  is  sent  to  prison.  Sixteen  hundred 
teachers  have  been  expelled  from  Servian  Mace- 
donia; and  hundreds  of  priests,  not  only  the  priests 
of  the  Bulgarian  national  church  but  also  those  of 
the  Catholic  and  Protestant  churches  have  been 
driven  into  exile. 


THE   END. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY^ 


(a)   ENGLISH   AND   AMERICAN    BOOKS  ^ 

1.  Barkley,  Henry  C.     Between  the  Danube  and  the  Black  Sea:  or 

Years  in  Bulgaria.    London,  1876,  pp.  313. 

2.  Beaman,  a.  Hulme.    Stamboloff.    (Public  Men  of  To-day.)    Lon- 

don, 1895,  pp.  240. 

Not  only  a  well-written  life  of  Bulgaria's  great  statesman, 
but  an  excellent  survey  of  the  history  of  the  country  from  its 
re-eBtabhshincut  to  the  tragic  death  of  Stamboloff. 

3.  BitAiLSFORD,  Henry  Noel.    Macedonia:  its  Races  and  their  Future. 

London,  1906,  pp.  340. 

The  most  authoritative  work  on  the  ethnic  problems  in  Mace- 
donia published  in  any  language.  Contains  valuable  chapters 
on  the  Bulgara  of  Macedonia  and  gives  excellent  accounts  of  the 
Macedonian  revolutionary  movement. 

4.  Bulgaria  of  To-day.     Pubhshed  by    the  Bulgarian    Ministry   of 

Commerce  and  Agriculture.     London,  1907,  pp.  299. 

An  official  document  that  contains  a  large  amount  of  useful 
statistical  information. 

5.  BtrxTON,  Noel.    With  the  Bulgarian  Staff.    London,  1913,  pp.  165. 

A  sympathetic  sketch  of  the  first  Balkan  war  and  the 
peasant  soldiers  of  Bulgaria. 

6.  Dicey,  Edward.     The  Peasant  Slate.     Ix»ndon,  1894,  pp.  332. 

An  admirable  account  of  social  and  economic  matters  in 
Bulgaria  from  1878  to  1894. 

7.  Green.  Francis  Vinton.     Tfie  Campaign  in  Bulgaria:   1877-78. 

London,  1903,  pp.  202. 

History  of  the  Rusao-Turkish  war. 

8.  Macdonald,  JonN.     Czar  Ferdinand  and  his  People.     New  York, 

1913,  pp.  341. 

9.  Mach,  Richard  von.     The  Bulgarian  Exarchate:  its  history  and 

the  Extent  of  its  Authority  in  turkey.    London,  1907,  pp.  105. 

10.  Miller,   William.      The   Balkans:     Rumania,   Bulgaria,  Servia, 

and  Montenegro.     (Story  of  the  Nations.)     New  York,   1907, 
pp.  476. 

The  best  historical  account  of  Bulgaria  in  English.  Pages 
119  to  248  arc  devoted  to  Bulgaria. 

11.  Report  of  the  International  Commission  to  Inquire  into  the  Caiises 

and  Effects  of  the  Balkan  Wars.     Published  by  the  Carnegie 
Endowment  for  International  Peace.     Washington,  1914. 

The  report,  is  characterized  by  scientific  accuracy  and  im- 
partiality. It  is  a  painstaking  piece  of  work,  and  throws  a  flood 
of  light  not  only  on  the  Balkan  wars  but  al.so  on  the  ethnic  and 
political  problems  in  Bulgaria  and  Macedonia. 

>  See  also  bibliographic  footnotes  throughout  the  volume. 

397 


398  Bibliography 


12.  Sloane,    William    M.      The   Balkans:    a   Laboratory  of  History. 

New  York,  1914,  pp.  322. 

13.  SoNNicnsEN,  Albert.    Confessions  of  a  Macedonian  Bandit.    New 

York,  1910. 

An  interesting  account  of  the  revolutionary  movement  that 
precipitated  the  Balkan  wars. 

14.  Stobart,   Mrs.    St.  Clair.     War  and    Women.     London,   1913, 

pp.  239. 

Account  of  the  work  of  women  in  the  first  Balkan  war. 

15.  TsANOFF,  CoRniXN'E  AND  Radoslav.     Pawns  of  Liberty:   a  Bal- 

kan Tale  of  Yesterday.     New  York,  1914. 

A  story  of  the  organization  of  revolt  and  of  peasant  and  town 
life  in  Macedonia  before  the  first  Balkan  war. 

16.  Wagner,  Hermenengild.     With  the  Victorious  Bulgarians.    New 

York,  1913,  pp.  273. 

Perhaps  the  best  English  account  of  the  first  Balkan  war. 

17.  Washburn,    George.      Fifty    Years  in   Constantinople.     Boston, 

1913,  pp.  319. 

An  intimate  account  of  the  political  situation  in  the  Balkan 
peninsula  during  a  half  century.  Excellent  survey  of  the  rfile 
played  by  Robert  College  in  the  development  of  Bulgaria. 

18.  WiNLOw,    Clara    Vostrovskt.      Our   Little    Bulgarian    Cousin. 

Boston,  1913,  pp.  114. 

An  interesting  children's  book  of  peasant  life  and  customs  in 
Bulgaria. 

19.  There  are  excellent  English  versions  of  VazofT's  Under  the  Yoke 

(London,  1912),  Stoyanoff's  Autobiography  (London,  1913), 
and  Slaveikoff's  Shade  of  the  Balkans  (London,  1904). 

20.  For  a  Bulgarian  grammar  see  W.  R.   Morfill's  Grammar _  of  the 

Bulgarian  Language  (London,  1897),  and  for  dictionaries  see 
Constantine  Stephanove's  English-Bulgarian  and  Bulgarian- 
English  dictionaries  (Sofia,  1913). 


(6)    FRENCH,   GERMAN,   AND   BOHEMIAN   BOOKS 

1.  BousQUET,    Georges.      Histoire    du    peuple    Bulgare    depuis    les 

origines  jusqu'rl  7ios  jours.    Paris,  1909,  pp.  435. 

2.  Brancoff,    D.   M.     La  Macidoine  et  sa  population  ChrUienne. 

Paris,   1905,  pp.  270. 

3.  GuERiN   Songeron,    R.   p.     Histoire   de   la   Bulgarie  depuis   les 

origines  jusqu'd,  nos  jours:  485-1013.    Paris,  1913,  pp.  480. 

4.  JiRECEK,  C.  J.    Cesty  po  Bulharska.    Prague,  1888. 

5.  JiRECEK,  C.  J.    Das  Fiirstenthum  Bulgarien.    Prague,  1891,  pp.  573. 

6.  JiRECEK,  C.  J.    Gcschichte  dcr  Bulgarien.    Prague,  1876. 

The  writings  of  Professor  Jirecek,  published  originally  in 
Bohemian,  contain  the  most  valuable  historical  accounts  of 
the  origin  of  the  Bulgarian  people  and  the  rise  of  the  old  Bul- 
garian kingdom. 

7.  Ladnay,  Louis  de.    La  Bulgarie  d'hier  et  de  demain.    Paris,  1912, 

pp.  494. 

8.  Leger,    Louis.      Turcs   et   Grecs   conlre   Bulgares   en   Macedoine. 

Paris,  1904,  pp.  228. 

9.  MiLETiTCH,  L.    AtrocitSs  Grecques  en  Macedoine  pendant  la  Guerre 

Greco-Bulgare.     Sofia,    1913,   pp.    180.     With  a  map  and  53 
illustrations. 


Bibliography  399 


10.  Sis,    Vladimir.      Kriticke    dny    Bulharska:  dojmy,   promridmky, 

Hvahy.     Prague,  1914,  pp.  168. 

11.  Weiss  -  Bartenstein,  W.  K.     Bulgarieiis  Ydiksivirtchaflliche  Ent- 

tvickelung.    Berlin,  1913,  pp.  151. 

(c)   AMERICAN   AND   ENGLISH   PERIODICAL   ARTICLES 

1.  Abbott,  G.    Bulgarians  in  the  United  States.    Charities,  Jan.  9, 

1909.    Vol.  21,  pp.  653-G60. 

2.  BouRcniER,  J.   D.     On  the  Black  Sea  with  Prince  Ferdinand. 

Fortnightly  Review,  Jan.  1891.    Vol.  55,  pp.  82-101. 

3.  Brailsford,  Hen-ry  N.     The  Macedonian  Revolt.     Fortnightly 

Review,  Sept.  1903,  pp.  428-444. 

4.  Buxton,  Noel.    Freedom  and  Servitude  in  the  Balkans.     West- 

minster Review,  May,  1903,  pp.  481-490. 

5.  DiCET,    Edward.      Russia    and    Bulgaria.      Fortnightly    Review, 

April,  1896,  pp.  663-676. 

6.  Marsh,   B.   C.      Bulgarian   at  Home.     Charities,   Jan.   9,    1909. 

Vol.  21,  pp.  649-650. 

7.  ScELLE,  Georges.     Bulgarian  Independence.     American  Journal 

of  International  Law.     1912.    Vol.  6,  pp.  86-106. 

8.  Thompson,  Ellinor  F.  B.     Bulgaria  To-day.     Living  Age,  April 

7,  1906.    Vol.  249,  pp.  31-42. 

9.  Tonjoroff,  Svetozar.    Bulgaria  and  the  Treaty  of  Berlin.    North 

American  Review,  1908.     Vol.  188,  pp.  833-841. 

10.  TsANOFF,   Corrinne   Stephenson.     \\Tiat   I   Saw   in    Bulgaria. 

Chautauquan,  Nov.  1913.    Vol.  72,  pp.  215-218. 

11.  Wallis,  H.  M.    Bulgaria  and  her  Traducers.    Nineteenth  Century, 

1913.    Vol.  74,  pp.  1342-1346. 

12.  Wallis,  H.  M.     The  Devastation  of  Macedonia.     Quarterly  Re- 

view, April,  1914.    Vol.  220,  pp.  506-523. 


INDEX 


Aaron  of  Transylvania,  32 

Abbott,  G.,  399 

Abbott,  Inez  L.,  315,  340 

Abdul-IIamid,  41,  43,  48,  88 

Abdulla  Paaha,  111 

Achraet  Aga,  41 

Adrianoplc,  7,  14,  44,  89,  113,  114, 

123,  127,  222 
Agrarian  party,  207 
Agriculture,  288-299 
Agricultural  banks,  286,  293,  347 
Agricultural  education,  234,  294 
Akanjeli,  168,  170 
Albania,  12,  19,  45,  46,  124,  210 
Albanians,  370 
Albigenaes,  18 
Alexander  II,  Tsar  of  Russia,  51, 

53,  286,  347 
Alexander  III,  Tsar  of  Russia,  53, 

61,  71 
Alexander,    Prince    of    Bulgaria, 

50-59,  09,  75,  285 
Alexander  the  Great,  12 
Alexander  Ncvsky  cathedral,  281, 

286,  344 
Alexandria,  209 
American  Bible  Society,  258 
American  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, 222,  229,  323 
American  College  for  Girls.     See 

Constantinople  College 
American    influence    in   Bulgaria, 

323-340 
American  Institute  at  Samokov, 

229^  338-339 
American    School    for    Girls    at 

Samokov,  339-340 
Amherst  College,  331 
Anaoudoff,  A.,  276 
Andartefl,  145 
Andraeff,  Alexander,  285 


Angeloff,  Ivan,  284-285 

Antarte,  120 

Antioch,  209 

Antivari,  44 

Apriloff,  Vassil,  226 

Arda  river,  5,  7 

Area  of  Bulgaria,  10 

Argyll,  Duke  of,  39,  48 

Arghyr,  175 

Armenia,  47 

Army,  204 

Army  recruits,  188 

Art,  277-287 

Art,  Academy,  234,  281,  286-287 

Art  collections,  286 

Art.  exhibitions,  286 

Asen,  Ivan,  I,  21 

Asen,  Ivan,  II,  23,  263 

Asen,  Peter,  21 

Asparuh,  13 

Atanaaoff,  George,  250 

Attar  of  roses,  3,  290 

Athos,  Mount,  33 

Augustus,  Prince,  62 

Austria,  56,  69,  93,  130,  308 

B 

Baba  Konak,  3 
Bachkovo  monastery,  350 
Baird,  Agnea  M.,  340 
Baird,  J.  W.,  338 
Balabanoff,  A.,  276 
Balabanoff,  Marko,  205 
Baldwin,  Count,  22 
Balkan  league,  87-105,  130 
Balkan  mountains,  1,  46 
Ball,  Lucy  C,  254 
Hanki,  307 
Hanks,  293,  311-312 
Bania,  307 
Bansko,  222,  365 
Barkley,  Henry  C,  397 


401 


402 


Index 


Bashi-Bozouks,  38,  41,  147,  168 

Basil  II,  19 

Batak,  41,  282 

Baths,  307.  346 

Bcaconsfield,  Lord,  48 

Beaman,  A.  Hiilme,  80,  82,  198, 

397 
Bee-culture,  293 
Beet  sugar,  292 
Belgrade,  56 

Bell  and  Lancaster  systems,  227 
Bendereff,  56 
Berberoff,  Christo,  285 
Berlin,  140 

Berlin,  treaty  of,  46,  48,  55,  76,  97 
Bessarabia,  36 
Bibliography,  397-399 
Black  sea,  3 
Blagoeff,  207 

Bobtcheff,  Ilia  S.,  79,  206 
Bobtcheff,    Stephen   S.,    79,    206, 

276,  376 
Bogonailes,  18-19,  25,  210 
Bohemia,  33,  277,  282,  299,  307, 

308 
Bojinoff,  Alexander,  285 
BonchefT,  George,  276 
Boris  I,  15 
Boris  II,  19 
Boris,  Prince,  62,  65,  67,  71,  286, 

352 
Bosnia,  46,  210,  383 
Bostanov,  Captain,  158 
Boteff,  Christo,  74,  253,  275 
Bourchier,  J.  D.,  30,  69,  101,  104, 

399 
Bousquet,  Georges,  398 
Bowdoin  College,  331 
Bradinoff,  Ivan,  329 
Brailsford,    Henry   Noel,   29,   30, 

141,   209,   212,   223,   314,   361, 

369,  397,  399 
Brancoff,  D.  M.,  398 
Bregalnitza,  126,  143 
Bridgman,  Herbert  L.,  141 
Brigandage.  78 
British  Relief  Fund,  314 
Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools, 

221 
Brycc,  James,  5 
Buchar&st,  treaty  of,  10,  133 
Buffalos,  288  _ 
Buisson,  Ferdinand,  236 
Btilgarians  in  the  United  States, 

10 
Bulgarius,  Krusty,  365 


Bunar  Hissar,  111 
Burgas,  306,  308,  309,  354 
Buxton,     Noel,     110,     115,    397, 

399 
Byclopolyc,  106 
Byington,  Dr.,  229 


Caltchoff,  Constantine,  328 

Campbell,  Cyril,  87 

Campbell,  George  Douglas.     See 

Argyll,  Duke  of 
Cambouroff,  Stefan  M.,  328 
Canning,  George,  39 
Caricatures,  285 
earlier,  Mr.,  123 
Carnegie    commission,    89,    116, 

124,    127,    131,    140,    141,    162, 

180,  322,  381,  397 
Castoria,  314 
Catherine  of  Russia,  39 
Catholic    church.      See    Roman 

Catholic  church 
Catholic  Times,  220 
Catholic  Uniate  church,  221 
Ceramics,  285 
Cereals,  290 

Charles,  King  of  Rumania,  36 
Chatalfa.    See  Tchalja 
Cholakoff,  241 
Cholera,  133 
Chorlu.    5eeTchorlu 
Christian  Herald,  140,  321 
Christian  World,  222 
Christoff,  Kyril,  274 
Circassians,  36,  47 
Cities  of  Bulgaria,  349-358 
Clarke,  J.  F.,  338 
Clement,  Metropolitan,  56,  63 
Clementine  hospital,  321 
Clementine,  Princess,  62 
Clergy,  213 
Climate,  7,  348 
Coal,  306 

Commerce.    See  Trade 
Concessions,  304 
Congregational  church,  222,  229 
Conservative  party,  52,  205 
Constantine,  King  of  Greece,  135, 

145,    157,    165,    179,  322,   378, 

381 
Constantine,  Metropolitan,  64 
Constantine  of  Servia,  23 
ConstantinofT,   Aleko,    198,   267- 

269 


Index 


403 


Constantinople,  22,  32,  39 
Constantinople  College,  335-337, 

340 
Constitution,  50,  60 
Consular  courts,  204 
Copper,  30G 
Cosmos,  Bishop,  123 
Cotton,  292 
Count,  Elmer  E.,  221 
Coup  d'6lal,  53,  206 
Courts,  202-204 
Crane,  Charles  R.,  280,  282,  332, 

337 
Cretans,  97 
Crimean  war,  39 
Crusades,  22 
Crust,  Henry,  73,  77 
Cyprus,  47 
Cyrill.     See  Kyrill 


D 


Dance.    See  Horo 

Dancff.  Stefan,  67,  79,   124,  128, 

131.  133,  21.5,  276 
DanuDo  river,  6 
Danubian  provinces,  43 
Danubian  table-land,  1 
Dartmouth  College,  331 
Dary-deri,  216 
Debra,  123,  128 
Dcd6  Agatch,  161,  308 
Demir  Hissar,  145,  157,  159,  161, 

165 
Demir  Kapia,  2 
Democratic  party,  206 
Detchich,  106 
Dicey,     Edward,    85,     86,     397, 

399 
DimitrofT,  Christo,  152 
DimitrofT,   General   Radko,    109, 

110 
DimitrofF,  Peter,  328,  335 
Dimitrieva,  Ellenka,  336 
Djabaroff,  Theodor  J.,  326 
Djedjizam,  Hagopos,  326 
Djakovo,  227 
Djtimaia,  361 
Dobrinichte,  177 
Dobnidja,  45,  290 
Doiran,  143,  145 
DoTran,  Lake  of,  172 
Dolni  Bania,  307 
Domontovitz,  General,  50 
DondukofT-KorsakofF,   Prince,   50 
Dospeveky,  Vladislav,  283 


Doxato,  143,  145,  146,  159,  161, 

165 
Dozon,  August,  241 
Dragieff,  207 
Drama,  5,  161,  250,  367 
Drev,-  Theological  Seminary,  327 
Dubnitza,  4,  170,  307,  355 
Dutton,  Samuel  Train,  141 
Dwight,  James,  324 
Dwight,  William,  324 


E 


Eastern  Rumelia,  54,  55,  75 
Economoff,  Di miter,  328 
EconomoiT,  Dossi,  329 
EconomolT,  Jordan  J.,  327 
Education,  224-237 
Eleanor,  Queen  of  Bulgaria,  62, 

313-322 
Elections,  198 
Electoral  law,  194-197 
Elin-Pelin.    See  Ivanoff,  Dimiter 
England,  38,  87 
English  blue  book,  89 
Enroth,  General,  53 
Estournelles,  Baron  de,  141 
Etropole,  306 
Eudoxia,  Princess,  62 
Eumeniua,  27 
Euxinograd,  354 
Evzone,  164 
Exports,  309 


Farms.    See  Agriculture 

Fasts,  211 

Fauna,  9 

Ferdinand,   King  of  Bulgaria,  6, 

60-72,  79,  280,  333,  376 
Finns,  13,  182 
Fitcheff,  General,  109 
Flora,  8 
Fiorina,  366 

Folk-music.    See  Folk-songs 
Folk-songs,  238-251 
Forests,  9,  296-299 
Fortv   Martyrs,   church  of,  352- 

353 
FotinolT,  Constantinc,  233 
France,  308 

Frankfurter  Zeitung,  80 
French  Catholic  Sisters,  166 
Fruit,  291 
Furnajieff,  D.  N.,  222,  338 


404 


Index 


G 


Gabrovo,   3,   34,    226,   227,   291, 

301 
Gadulka,  249 
Gaida,  249 
Gates,  C.  Frank,  331 
Gavaliantsi,  170,  171 
Geneva,  189 
Geography,  1-11 
GeorgieiT,    Dimiter.     See   Hadji- 

Georgieff,  Dimiter 
Georgicff,  Ivan^  276 
Georgieff,  Marin,  285 
Germany,  308 
Gevgheli,  174 
Ghenadieff,  Dr.,  207 
Gibbon,  16 
Ginci  pass,  2 
Gladstone,    William   E.,    39,    42, 

43 
Gobranoff,  Peter,  329 
Good  Samaritan  Society,  316 
Gorbanoff,  I'etko,  326 
Gorin  Dubrik,  44 
Goase,  Edmund,  262 
Goths,  13 

Government,  192-207 
Gradovsky,  Professor,  50 
Great  Britain,  308 
Greece,  55,  84,  100,  127,  134,  188, 

235,  236,  374 
Greek  army  atrocities,   137,   142, 

162-181,  373-381 
Greek  church,  219 
Greeks,  89,  190 
Greene,  Francis  Vinton,  397 
Gregory,  17 

Grueff,  Damian,  57,  360 
Guerin-Songeron,  R.  P.,  398 
Gueshoff,  Ivan  D.,  328 
Gueshoff,   Ivan  E.,  79,   124,   125, 

129,  130,  206,  215,  327 
GuUiani,  366 
Gumuljini,  5,  161 
Gurko,  General,  44,  45 
Gypsies,  190,  375 

H 

Hadji-Georgieff,  Dimiter,  250 
Hague  tribunal,   138,  141 
Hamilton  College,  338 
Hamlin,  Cyrus,  324,  331 
Handicrafts.     See  Industry 
Harmanly,  309 


Hartenau,  Count.    See  Alexander, 

Prince  of  Bulgaria 
Harvard  University,  338 
Haskovo,  108,  291,  309 
Haskell,  E.  B.,  140 
II;uskeIl,  Mary  M.,  340 
Hixs.san  Aga,  31 
Hebrews,  51,  220 
Ilelleni/iation  of  Bulgaria,  29 
Herodotus,  12 
Ilerrick,  George  F.,  214 
Highways,  370 
Ililander,  33 
Ililawon,  28 
Hirst,  Francis  W.,  141 
Hissar,  307 
Holland,  39 

Holy  Synod,  63,  213,  286,  346 
Horo,  32,  249,  279 
Horses,  288 
Hospitals,  314,  321 
Hot  springs.    See  Mineral  springs 
House  communitv,  186,  289 
Hungary',  21,  129",  308 
Hims,  13,  182 
Hunyady,  John,  341 


Ibar  mountain,  5 

Ichtiman,  3,  26,  137 

Ikons,  212 

Illegitimacy,  186 

Illiteracy,  188,  235-236 

lUyrians,  12 

Imports,  308 

India,  46 

Indulgences,  211 

Industry,  300-312 

Iron,  306 

Isker  gorge,  2,  6 

Iskcr  river,  3,  4,  6 

Ishtip,  134 

Islam,  30 

Ivajlo,  23 

Ivanoff,  Athanas,  174 

IvanofT,  Dimiter,  275-276 

Ivanofl,   General,    109,    113,    132, 

379 
Ivanoff,  Jordan,  276 
IvanofT,  Stefan,  285,  346 


Janina,  127,  228 
Jardimula,  5 


Index 


405 


Jensen,  Alfred,  253,  269 

L 

Jerma  river,  218 

Jews,  189 

Labor  laws,  303 

Jiricek,  Constantme  J.,  183,  398 

Lakavista,  126 

John,  the  Exarch,  16 

Lakes,  7 

Judiciary,  202 

Language,  187 

Judges,  204 

Lansdowaie,  Lord,  93 

Justice,  202 

Larenay,  Louis  de,  70,  398 

Laznev,  Dr.,   156 

K 

Leger,  Louis,  398 

Levsky,  Vasail,  347 

Kaliman  II,  23 

Liberal  party,  54,  76,  205 

Kalofer,  109,  233 

Libraries,  236-237 

Kaloyan,  22 

Literacy,  235-236 

Kam'tchia  river,  299 

Literature,  252-276 

Karaveloff,  Liuben,  58,  67,  254 

Liuben,  the  haiduk,  242 

Karaveloff,  Petko,  206 

Live  stock,  292 

Karlovo,  3,  291,301,  310 

Local  government,  201 

Kars,  43 

Lom,  222 

Kaatoria,  100,  366 

Lom  Polanka,  2,  3 

Kaulbars,  General,  GO,  61,  75 

Lom  river,  6 

Kaval,  249 

London,  140 

Kavala,  100,  134,  140,  161 

London  Daily  News,  41 

Kayadjik,  309 

London,  peace  of,  113,  127 

Kazanlik,  3,  227,  291,  301,  354 

London  Times,  'ill 

Khans,  27 

I^ng,  Albert,  259,  330,  338 

Kikautscheff,  Traiko,  360 

Lootsk,  44 

Kilkis.    See  KukuHli 

Losengrad,  377 

Kirk  Kili.s86,  107,  110,  111,  133 

Louis  Philippe,  King,  62 

Kirkpikod,  Commandant,  154 

Lovetch,  222,  307 

Kilchevo,  124,  174 

LuleBurges,  111,  133,377 

Klissura,  291 

Klugmann,  Dr.,  151,  154 

M 

KoleiT,  Mito,  170,  171 

Komitadjis,  98,  360-365 

MacDonald,  John,  71,  397 

Koprivshtitza,  35,  306 

Macedonia,    19,    47,    66,    87,    90, 

Kossovo,  24,  89 

117,    130,    132,    148,    158,    163, 

Kotchana,  134 

359-395 

Kotel,  33,  226,  227,  255,  301 

Mac.(iahan,  Januarius  A.,  41 

Krum,  14,  341 

Mack,  Richard  von,  397 

Krali,  Marko,  258 

MadjarolT,  79,  206 

Kristofl,  Dobrey,  250 

Magyars.  17 

Mahmud  Mukhtar,  110 

Kristoff,    Constantine,    266,   268, 

276 

MalinofT,    Alexander,     100,     197, 

Kukush,  133,  157,  165,  166,  168, 

207 

169,  172,  180,  377 

MalinofT,  Jordan,  346 

Rumanian  aristocracy,  24 

Malko  Tirnovo,  110 

Kurds,  47 

Multbie,  Esther  Tappan,  339 

Kuropatkin,  General,  319 

Manchester  Guardian,  393 

Kustondil,  4,  26,  291,  307,  309 

Maria  Louisa,  Princess,  62,  280, 

Kutincheff,    General,    107,    108 

286 

Kutzo-VlakhH,    191,  375 

Maritza  river,  5,  7,  8,  lO-l 

Kylien.    Sec  Education 

Maritza  vallev,  26,  309 

Kyrillic  alphabet,  28 

Markham,  R."lL,  317 

Kyril,  Prince,  62 

Marko,  Krali,  285 

KyriJ,  Saint,  15,  17 

Marsh,  B.  C,  399 

406 


Index 


Marsh,  George  D.,  338 
Mamurtchoff,  George,  33,  36 
Marriage,  180 
Massacre  of  Bulgara,  179 
Mattheoff,  Peter  M.,  327 
Maynard,  Horace,  334 
Meritschleri,  307 
Method,  Saint,  15,  17 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  221, 

230,  332 
Metric  systems,  310 
Michael,  15,  23 

Michailovsky,  Stoyan,  265-267 
Michaltscheff,  Dimiter,  276 
Midhat  Pasha,  94 
MiliailoiT,  Nicholas,  285,  286 
Miiioff,  282 

Miladiiioff,  Constantine,  227,  240 
Miladinoff,  Diiniter,  227,  240 
Milan,  King,  55 
Miletitch,     Lubomir,     175,     276, 

398 
Military  statistics,  236 
Miller,   William,  21,   24,   44,   60, 

184,  397 
Miloukov,  Paul,  141 
Minerals,  306-307 
Mineral  springs,  307-308 
Mining,  306 
Ministry,  193 
Mirkvicka,    Ivan,    234,    277-282, 

285,  286,  345 
Missionaries,  186,  222,  230,  337- 

338 
Mitoff,  Anton,  283-284,  285,  286, 

346 
Mohadjirs,  97 
Mohammed  IV,  30 
Mohammedans.    See  Moslems 
Mochino,  306 
Momtchiloff,  M.,  237 
Monasteries,  217 
Monastir,  88,  89,  125 
Montague,  Lady,  341 
Montenegro,  44,  46,  85,  106,  188, 

235 
Morfill,  W.  R.,  398 
Moslems,  51,  97,  218-219 
Moustakoff,  Commandant,  149 
Moutafoff,  Alexander,  285 
Muftis,  219 
Mukhtar  Pasha,  43 
Municipal  councils,  202 
Music,  250-251 
Musical   instruments,    239,   249- 

250 


Musalla,  4 

Mustafa  Pasha,  110,341 

Mutkuroff,  Colonel,  57 

N 

Nadejda,  Princess,  62 
Narodniak.    Sec  Nationalist  party 
Nation  (London),  83 
National  assembly,  51,  193,  199, 

286 
National  bank,  311-312 
National  dance.    See  Horo 
National  liberal  party,  207 
National  museum,  343-344 
National  party,  206 
National  theatre,  250,  263,  346 
Naumoff,  Petko,  250 
Neophite,  Bishop,  122 
Ncukoff,  Peter,  276 
Nevrokop,  5 
New  York,  140 
Newspapers,  35,  198,  237 
Nicolitis,  Andr^,  383 
Nicoloff,  Naiden,  327 
Nicopolis,  32,  189,  220 
Nigrita,  127,   159,  160,  179,  374, 

381 
Nihilism,  74 
Nikolaieff,  General,  360 
Nikoloff,  Andrea,  285 
Nikolschoff,  W.,  236 
Niksic,  44 
Nish,  44,  46 
Nishava  valley,  2 
Nuts,  291 


O 


Oberlin  CoUege,  331 

Ochrida,  15,  124,  314 

Odessa,  34,  74 

Ogosta  river,  6 

Old  Servia,  124,  392 

Omortag,  14 

Onklos,  14 

Orehovo,  308 

Orthodox  church,  15,  18,  51,  64, 

208-218,  313 
Orphanages,  321-322 
Oshani,  380 
Oshen,  380 
Osman  Pasha,  44 
Ostrander,  L.  F.,  339 
Ovtch6-Pol6,  127 
Oxen,  288 


Index 


407 


Pachitnh,  premier  of  Servia,  122, 

124,  125,  127,  130,  382 
Painting,  277-287 
Paussy,  Monk,  33,  226,  281 
Paliortsi,  175 
Palmerston,  Lord,  40 
Panajj:urisht6,  227 
Panaretoff,  Stefan,  327 
Pangaion,  374 
Panitza,  Major,  360 
Panoff,  Olympia,  78 
Panslavists,  78 
Paris,  139 

Parma,  Duke  of,  62,  65 
Patriarchal  home,  289 
Patrick,  Marv  Mills,  336 
Pavloff,  99 

Pavlova,  Anastasia,  174 
Pavlovitch,  Nicholas,  283 
Peneff,  Boyan,  276 
Perkins,  G.  A.,  326 
Pcrnik,  306 

Peter,  King  of  Servia,  122,  391 
Pctkoff,  Stephen,  276 
Pctrich,  379 
PetrolT,  Nicholas,  282 
Petrov,  Blagai,  153 
Phanariotes,  27,  32,  225 
Philanthropy,  313-322 
Philip  of  Macedon,  12 
Philippopolis,    24,    44,    189,    222, 

309,  311,  349-350 
Protrovsky,  282 
PiprofT,  Panyot,  250 
Pirdop,  300 
Pirot,  260 
Plevna,  3,  44,  45,  222,  227,  234, 

294,  354-355 
Plovdiv.    Sec  Philippopolis 
Poganovsky  monastery,  218 
Political  parties,  205-207 
Pomaks,  30-32,  42,  156,  214 
Poraerantzeff,  Professor,  345 
PopofT,  Ivan,  244 
PopofT,  Marko  N.,  222,  338 
Population,  10,  188 
Porto  Lagos,  308 
Potter,  M.  W.,  255 
Potterv,  301 
Povert.v,  289 
Pravichta,  127 
Pn;fectH,  201 
Preslav,  16 
Prespa,  15 


Press,  124,  204 

Prilep,  245 

Princeton  University,  339 

Prizrcnd,  366 

Progressive  liberal  part}',  206 

Protcs{.ant  church,  210,  211,  221- 
223,  230,  313,  321,  337,  395 

Protitch,  Andrey,  282,  285 

Prussia,  39 

Public  instruction.  See  Educa- 
tion 

Public  libraries.    See  Libraries 


Q 


Queen  Eleanora.     Sec  Eleanora, 
Queen  of  Bulgaria 


R 


Radefl,  Simeon,  27G 

Radical  democratic  part.y,  207 

Radomir,  4 

Radoviche,  134,  382 

Radoslavoff,  Vassil,  205,  207 

Ragusa,  189 

Raganj,  106 

Railways,  309-310 

Rainfall,  8 

Rayas,  92 

Razlog  district,  5,  177,  180,  361 

Razsoukanoff,  Major,  126 

Reading-rooms,  237 

Red  Cross,  314 

Redlich,  Joseph,  141 

Refugees,  137 

Religion,  20.8-223 

Religious  toleration,  188,  214 

Revenues,  200 

Review  of  Reviews,  102 

Revolutionary  committee,  255 

Rhodope  mountains,  4,  31,  137 

Rice  292 

Riggs,  Ehas,  228,  338 

Rilo  monastery,  217,  356-358 

Rilo  mountains,  3,  4,  6,  137 

Ril.skv,  Ivan,  217 

Rilsky,  Neophyt,  34,  226 

Rivers,  0-7 

Roads,  310 

Robert,  Christopher,  324,  330 

Robert  College,  230,  324-335 

Rodna  Pessen,  251 

Roman  Catholic  church,    IS,  63, 

<y\,  65,  166,  175,  211,  220-221, 

313,  321,  395 


408 


Index 


Romans  in  Bulgaria,  13 

Rome,  140,  209 

Roaee   290 

Rumania,  84,  129,  188,  236 

Rumelia.    See  Eastern  Rumelia 

Rumeli  Hissar,  332 

Russia,  38,  46,  60,  69,  73,  80,  83, 

93,  102,  128,  130 
Russophil  party,  52,  68,  77,  198, 

206,  215 
Russo-Turkiah  war,  31,  75 
Rustchuk,  57,  76,  189,  222,  227, 

294,  308,  311,  350-357 
Rye,  290 


S 


Sadova,  234,  294 

Saint  John  of  Rilo,  356 

Saint  Nicholas  monastery,  217 

Sakuzoff,  207 

Salonika,  88,  89,   118,   121,   128, 

140,  160,  170,  363,  367,  379 
Samokov,   4,   26,    170,   229,   233, 

306,  310,  355-356 
Samovilas,  247 
Samovit,  308 

Sandansky,  Yani,  360,  364 
San  Stefano,  treaty  of,  44,  46,  87, 

130,  359 
Savoff,  General,  108,  124,  132 
Saw-mills,  302 
Scelle,  GeorRcs,  399 
Schauifler,  H.  A.,  326 
Schools,  226 
Sculpture,  285-287 
Seres,  100,  139,  140,  143,  145,  147, 

148,    153,    156,    159,    165,    177, 

179,  180,  367 
Servia,  17,  24,  45,  46,  55,  84,  85, 

101,    104,    107,    127,    134,    188, 

235,  236 
Seven  Altars,  monastery  of,  218 
Shar  Planina,  102 
Shipka  pass,  3,  44,  45 
Shishman,  19,  21 
Shishman,  Ivan,  III,  26 
Shishmanoff,  Ivan,  276 
Shucking,  Walther,  141 
Shukri  Pasha,  113 
Shuraen,  222,  227,  301,  354 
Silistria,  17,  76,  189 
Silk-spinning,  301 
Simeon,  16 

Simeon,  Metropolitan,  64 
Sis,  Vladimir,  399 


SitchanofT,  John  J.,  329 

Sivry  Chal,  5 

Slaveikoff,  Ivan,  327 

Slaveikoff,  Pencho,  228,  238,  245, 

269-272,  398 
Slaveikoff,    Petko   R.,   241,   255- 

259 
Slavic  language,  224 
Slavic  literature,  17 
Slavs,  182 

Sliven,  3,  301,  306,  310,  311,  354 
Slivnitza,  260 

Sloane,  William  M.,  162,  398 
Sobranje.    See  National  assembly 
Socialist  party,  207 
Sofia,  3,  4,  14,  15,  170,  189,  222, 

307,  309,  310,  321,  341-348 
Sofia  table-land,  8 
Sonnichsen,  Albert,  360,  398 
Sonnichsen,  Natalie  D.,  198 
Sophroni,  Bishop,  33,  226 
Soumblis,  Pericles,  380 
Spiridonoff,  Yetcho,  285 
Sredna  Gora,  3 
Stamboloff,  Stefan,  55,  57,  61,  63, 

65,   73-86,   89,    100,    198,   206, 

207 
Stara  Planina,  1,  3,  6 
Stara  Zagora,  24,  45,  75,  222,  227, 

233,  300,  309.  339,  354 
Stephanove,      Constantine,     338, 

398 
Stephen,  King,  19 
Stobart,  Mrs.  St.  Clair,  185,  398 
Stoiloff,    Constantine,     67,    328, 

334 
Stone,  Ellen  M.,  340,  363,  364- 

365 
Stoyanoff,     Zachary,     206,     255, 

398 
Strana,  247 

Strashimiroff,  Anton,  215,  275 
Struma  river,  4,  7,  14 
Strumnitza,  167 
Suleiman,  44 
Supreme  court,  203 
Sveti  Nicola,  2 
Sviatoslav,  17 
Svishtov,  35,  308,  311 
Svoboda,  255 


Takeff,  207,  268 
Taptchelcshtoff,  Petko,  328 
Tatarcheff,  Chrislo,  360 


Index 


409 


Tatar  Pazardjik,  273 
Tatars,  13,  23,  36,  182 
Taxes,  200,  289 
Tchalja,  112,  123 
Tcham-Koria,  286 
TcheinopaefT,  Christo,  365 
Tcherkasky,  rrince,  260 
Tchernefl,  Peter,  329 
Tcbifliks,  97 
Teachers,  231,  233 
Technology,  234 
Temps,  Le,  139 
Terterii,  George,  24 
Textile  industries,  301 
Theodoroff,  129 
Thessaly,  45 
Thomoff,  Stefan,  327 
Thompson,  Ellinor  F.  B.,  399 
Thrace,    26,   45,    128,    133,    161, 

377 
Thraco-IIlyrians,  12 
Timok  river,  2 
Tirnovo,    14,    19,   21,   27,   50,   61, 

71,  74,  222,  351-353 
Tobacco,  291 
Todoraki,  168 
TodorofT,  Petko,  272-273 
Tonjoroff,  Svetozar,  399 
Tontcheff,  207 
Town  government,  201 
Trade,  300-312 
Tranefigviration,     monastery     of, 

218 
Treptch^,  Father,  176 
Trikoupis,  100 
Tm,  306,  307 
Tsankoff.    Sec  Zankoflf 
Tsaribrod,  2()0 
Tsar    Liberator.      See   Alexander 

II  of  Russia 
TsanofT,  A.  S.,  337 
TsanofT,     Corrimie     Stephenson, 

398,  399 
Tsanoff,   lladoelav   A.,  253,   261, 

264,  398 
Tscherepish  monastery,  217 
Tserkovsky,  Tsanko,  276 
Tsilka,  Mrs.  Gregory  M.,  365 
Tsoneff,  Benu,  276 
Turanian  race,  13,  182 
Tundja  river,  7 
Turkey,     46,     55,    75,    87,    235, 

365 
Turks,  24,  26 
Tuzi,  106 
Tzoachell,  General,  361 


U 


Uniate     church.      See     Catholic 

Uniate  church 
Union  and  Progress,  Committee 

of  95  96  99 
United  States,  181,  222,  337,  340, 

365 
University  of  Sofia,  233 
Uskub,  88,  122,  123 


Valdemir,  Prince,  61 

Vannitsa,  91 

Vardar  plain,  128 

Vardar  river,  10-4 

Varna,  8,  222,  306,  308,  309,  311, 

353-354 
Vanshetz,  307 
Vassileff,  Marin,  285 
Vatralsky,  Stoyan  K.,  82,  338 
Vazoff,  Ivan,  183,  206,  250,  259- 

264,  285,  398 
Veda  Slovena,  241 
V^;les,  122,  126 
Velitchkoff,      Constantine,      79, 

273 
VenelLn,  Juri  I.,  34 
Venice,  189 

Verkovitch,  Stefan  K.,  241 
Verila  Planina,  3 
Veshin,  Yaroslav,  282 
Vid  river,  6 

Vidin,  26,  189,  222,  308,  311 
Vienna,  140 
Vineyards,  292 
Vitosha  mountain,  4,  347 
Vlacks,  88,  191 
Vladimir,  16 

Vladi.slavofT,  Stoiko,  33,  226 
Vlaikoff,  Theodore,  264-265 
Vocational  schools,  305 
Voden,  15,  100 
Voracek,  264 
VoulkofT,  General,  148 
Voy6voda,  120 
Vratza,  33,  306 

W 

Wagner,  Ilermeningild,  113,  398  | 

VVuldenHians,  18 

Wallachia,  32 

Wallis,  11.  M    374,  399 

Warner,  Charles  Dudley,  255 


410 


Index 


Washburn,  George,  46,  325,  329, 

330,  331-332,  398 
Weaving,  300 

Weights  and  measures,  310 
Weiss-Bartenstein,  W.  K.,  399 
Wheat,  290 
White,  Sir  WiJUam,  55 
WilHams  College,  331 
Winlow,  Clara  Vostrovaky,  398 
Women,  29 


Xanthi,  5,  161,  291 
Y 


Yale  University,  338 
Yamboli,  307 


Yamrukchal,  3 
YankofT,  Dr.,  155 
Yanthra  river,  6,  218 
Yavoroff,  Payo,  274-275 
Yencheff,  Mrs.  Peter,  337 
Young  Turks,  93,  97 


Zadruga,  186 

Zankoff,    Dragan,    53,    75,    205. 

206 
Zemovo,  154 
Zlatarsky,  George,  276 
Zlatarsky,  VassiJ,  276 
Zlatitza,  3 
Zletovska,  126 
Zomitza,  223,  337 


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